Peacocks and Peonies

Tani Bunchō

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This pair of peacocks with peonies represents wealth and worldly power. The heroic posture of the peacock suggests it may have been an official commission from an influential samurai patron. Bunchō learned various Chinese painting styles when in the service of Matsudaira Sadanobu (1758–1829). Bunchō borrowed the pictorial vocabulary of birds and flowers from such painters as Sō Shiseki (1712–1786), who had studied the Chinese treatment of these subjects in Nagasaki.

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