Mynah Bird on Plum Branch

Saien Hōsai (Xiyua Fangqi)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A single mynah bird rests upon a flowering plum tree in this rapidly executed ink painting. In his subject matter, the artist has followed models set forth in Ming-dynasty Chinese painting. His brushwork is characterized by a spirited roughness and the liberal use of thick ink to create dynamic contrasts, which brings a remarkable sense of volume to both branch and bird. Xiyua Fangqi, known in Japan as Saien Hōsai, was a Qing-dynasty Chinese merchant and painter. He was thought to have been from either Jiangsu or Anhui Province, and to have traveled to Japan on a number of occasions beginning about the year 1772. One story says that he once drifted ashore in what is today Chiba Prefecture, in eastern Japan, and along the way to Nagasaki he saw and painted Mount Fuji. He is said to have brought the painting back to China, where it generated much interest.

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