Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting. It dates from 1777 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Executed in ink and color on silk and mounted as a fan leaf, the piece was created in China in 1777 and now resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The work portrays a bird alongside fruit, rendering the scene as a still-life composition. The bird and fruit serve as the visual subject, reflecting the naturalistic interests of late 18th-century Chinese painting. Executed in ink and color on silk and mounted as a fan leaf, the piece was created in China in 1777 and now resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Its depiction of these elements aligns with the genre's emphasis on everyday objects, though the sources do not elaborate on deeper symbolic meaning.
Technique & Style
Created in 1777, this work is executed in ink and color on silk. The piece was originally fashioned as a fan but was subsequently mounted as an album leaf. Stylistically, it belongs to the still life genre, depicting a composition of birds and fruit. The work originates from China and is attributed to an anonymous painter.
History & Provenance
The work dates to 1777, a date recorded in its cataloguing as the inception of the piece, and is identified as having been made in China. It takes the form of a fan mounted as an album leaf, executed in ink and color on silk, and was produced by an anonymous painter rather than a documented named artist. The painting is now held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
No further details of an earlier ownership chain, commission, or pre-institutional provenance are documented in the available sources, nor is a specific inventory or accession number or any past exhibition recorded.
Overview
This work, untitled, is a painted fan leaf rendered with ink and color on silk. The composition depicts a tabletop arrangement featuring birds, assorted fruit, and porcelain vessels, all confined within the fan’s limited surface.
Context
Fans served both functional and decorative purposes in East Asian artistic traditions, often featuring miniature paintings. This piece follows that convention, using the portable medium to convey a refined interior scene, a practice common among anonymous or unidentified artists of the genre.
Artist & collection
- Untitled
Untitled
清 佚名 山禽海棠 扇|Flowers with Birds
Untitled
Untitled
明 佚名 （舊傳）吳炳 枇杷 扇|Bird on a Loquat Tree
清 佚名 竹禽圖 冊頁|Bamboo Branch with Berries and Birds
清 任頤 冊頁|Two Birds Perched on a Flowering Rose Bush
Bird on a Flowering Branch
南宋 佚名 竹梅小禽圖 團扇|Sparrows, plum blossoms, and bamboo
Sparrows, Bamboo, and a Tree
Gang bian xing hua
