Artwork
清 佚名 竹禽圖 冊頁|Bamboo Branch with Berries and Birds
清 佚名 竹禽圖 冊頁|Bamboo Branch with Berries and Birds is an ink painting. It dates from 1671 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This anonymous Qing dynasty painting, titled Bamboo Branch with Berries and Birds, is an album leaf rendered in ink and color on silk.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Created in 1671 by an anonymous artist, this album leaf depicts a naturalistic scene featuring bamboo, birds, and fruit. The composition focuses on these botanical and zoological elements rendered in ink and color on silk. While the work is classified within the landscape genre, its iconography centers on the interaction between the avian figures and the berry-laden bamboo branch.
Technique & Style
6 centimetres, suits the intimate album-leaf format and encourages close, detailed observation of natural forms.
Executed as an album leaf, this work is rendered in ink and color on silk, a traditional Chinese painting support that allows for delicate tonal modulation and fine brushwork. The composition centers on bamboo accompanied by birds and fruit, executed with the refined brush handling characteristic of seventeenth-century Chinese bird-and-flower painting. The modest, nearly square format of the leaf, measuring approximately 27.9 by 27.6 centimetres, suits the intimate album-leaf format and encourages close, detailed observation of natural forms.
History & Provenance
Created in China in 1671, this album leaf titled Bamboo Branch with Berries and Birds was executed by an unknown artist using ink and color on silk. While specific details regarding its original commission or early ownership are not recorded, the piece is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The silk leaf measures approximately 27.9 cm in height and 27.6 cm in width. No exhibition history or accession number is specified in the available documentation.
Overview
This anonymous Qing dynasty painting, titled Bamboo Branch with Berries and Birds, is an album leaf rendered in ink and color on silk. It presents a detailed natural scene, characteristic of traditional Chinese bird-and-flower subjects. The composition focuses on a single bamboo branch adorned with vibrant berries, providing a perch for two small avian figures.
Originally, this piece would have been one component within a larger collection of similar works bound into a book.
Artist & collection
