Artwork Page for Gathering Osmanthus

Details / Information for Gathering Osmanthus

Gathering Osmanthus

折桂圖

1736–95

China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign

(1736–95)
Medium
Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Measurements
Print only: 120 x 62 cm (47 1/4 x 24 7/16 in.); Overall: 120.6 x 67.3 cm (47 1/2 x 26 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2025.84
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Woodblock printing in color reached a height in China in the 1600s to 1700s. The prints were executed by means of sets of separate blocks, each carved to print a different color.

Description

In the 1600s, printing flourished in such Jiangnan cities as Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Huizhou, evolving from privately enjoyed illustrated books printed in color to more commercialized single-sheet color prints that were hung on walls and became part of the rich urban visual culture.
A vertical print depicts an estate beneath a tan mountain. Figures with light skin tones, white faces, and black hair wear red, blue, and yellow robes, gathering in courtyards and on balconies. Toward the left, green plants in ceramic pots rest on red stands. Buildings with gray tiled roofs and red-latticed railings enclose the figures. A body of water lies before the mountain peak. Vertical Chinese calligraphy occupies the upper left corner.

Gathering Osmanthus

1736–95

China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)

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