Symbols of Longevity: Deer under Peach and Pine
1801
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1801
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Symbols of Longevity: Deer under Peach and Pine is a 1801 unspecified by Toda Tadanaka, a Nihonga work, depicting Deer, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This pair of scrolls shows two deer under peach and pine trees. The deer stand calm in a lush setting. Bright red mushrooms lie near the peaches, adding to the theme. The artist painted peaches, pines, and mushrooms because they symbolize long life in Japanese art. The deer also fit this idea, since antler medicine was thought to help health. Look up deer paintings by Nagasawa Rosetsu for more animals with meaning.
This pair of hanging scrolls is replete with images symbolizing longevity. Peaches, associated with immortality, hang in abundance from a tree in the left scroll, while pines, known for being eternally green, twist together in the right scroll. Beneath the trees stand two bucks, one of whom gazes at a doe seated on the ground as he licks his coat. Medicine made from deer antlers is said to promote health. Mushrooms, in bright red and green, seen in the left scroll, are said to confer immortality upon those who eat them, and the small waterfall in the right scroll speaks to the infinite…
Read the full account in the museum source.
