Birds and Flowers

Unidentified artist

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

By the tenth century, bird-and-flower painting was an established genre in East Asian painting. In Korea folding screens on this subject became prevalent in the late Joseon period and continued to be popular in the twentieth century. Carefully painted and composed, the scenes on this colorful screen are characterized by meticulous depictions. Each panel portrays one or more pairs of birds resting on or flying around a blossoming plant, a tree, or reeds. Other species appear as well, including insects and the marine life seen in the fifth panel. Many of the motifs have poetic meaning and embody wishes for wealth, career advancement, longevity, and fertility. The symbolism of male-female bird pairings—such as mandarin ducks, known to mate for life—made such screens suitable for wedding ceremonies or a bridal chamber.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art