About this work

Subject & Meaning

The composition captures the interaction between the flora and fauna, presenting a focused study of nature typical of the period's album paintings.

The work depicts a naturalistic scene featuring bamboo and a bird, identified specifically as Bambusoideae. Created in 1506 by an anonymous Chinese artist, the painting is executed in ink and color on silk as part of an album of eleven works. While the title is listed as Untitled, the iconography centers on these two primary elements within a landscape genre.

The composition captures the interaction between the flora and fauna, presenting a focused study of nature typical of the period's album paintings. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which holds the piece, attributes the imagery to these specific biological subjects without additional narrative context or symbolic interpretation provided in the available records.

Technique & Style

Created in 1506, this work is a miniature painting executed in ink and color on a silk support. Originating from China, the piece was originally part of an album containing eleven paintings. The artist remains anonymous.

Formally, the composition depicts bamboo and a bird within a landscape genre. The physical dimensions of the painting measure 12.7 centimeters in height and 17.1 centimeters in width. As a miniature from an album, the handling reflects the specific conventions of Chinese silk painting from the early 16th century, utilizing fine brushwork for the botanical and avian subjects.

History & Provenance

This untitled miniature painting was created in 1506 in China, executed in ink and color on silk as part of an album of eleven paintings. The work is attributed to an anonymous painter rather than a known artist. It depicts bamboo and a bird within a landscape format.

The album subsequently entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the miniature is presently held. No information on intermediate ownership, commission history, or earlier custody is recorded in the available sources.

The work, an anonymous 1506 miniature painting on silk depicting bamboo and a bird, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While the specific accession number is not provided in the available records, the museum classifies the piece as a painting originating from China. The artwork measures 12.7 by 17.1 centimeters and is cataloged within the institution's holdings under the title Untitled.

No exhibition history is documented in the provided sources; therefore, the work's display record remains unspecified based on current data.

Context

The work, an untitled miniature from a 1506 album of eleven paintings, is recorded as a Chinese ink and color painting on silk, classified as a landscape genre depicting Bambusoideae and a bird. Its authorship is attributed to an anonymous painter, a category noted in both the internal corpus and the Wikidata entry, situating it within the early Ming‑period tradition of album paintings produced in China. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds the piece, which measures 12.7 × 17.1 cm, and its creation date of 1506 aligns with documented inception records.

Scholarship views the work as representative of the period’s landscape miniatures, emphasizing its role in the evolution of Chinese painting within the broader artistic context of the era.

Overview

This untitled miniature painting features a serene composition of birds amidst bamboo. Executed with ink and color on silk, it is one of eleven such works originally compiled into an album. The artwork's small scale and delicate rendering highlight a traditional approach to nature subjects, common in its historical context.