Mynah Birds and Leaping Squirrel
Object Details
- Artist
- Hua Yan (1682-1756)
- Label
- Hua Yan apprenticed in the family business of papermaking, but ultimately became a well-known painter. He specialized in depictions of amusing, animated birds and animals, and developed a personal style of dry, light brushwork. Some of Hua Yan's paintings can be read as social commentary. This scroll may have been created as political satire, since a squirrel can symbolize a small-minded, greedy man who nonetheless achieves high position.
- Most of Hua Yan's paintings incorporate a brief inscription. This combination of pictorial imagery and calligraphy is typical of eighteenth-century Qing dynasty style and is seen in both paintings and porcelain design. Artists in these two media also found common ground in the use of similar motifs.
- Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Beyond Paper: Chinese Calligraphy on Objects (August 18, 1994 to July 3, 1997)
- Chinese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to September 4, 1980)
- Chinese and Japanese Art--Lacquer and Paintings (August 18, 1967 to October 14, 1969)
- Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)
- Credit Line
- Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
- 1730s-40s
- Period
- Qing dynasty
- Accession Number
- F1958.8
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Ink and color on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (image): 134.5 x 60.3 cm (52 15/16 x 23 3/4 in)
- Origin
- China
- Related Online Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Topic
- Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911)
- China
- Chinese Art
- mynah bird
- squirrel
- Record ID
- fsg_F1958.8
- Metadata Usage (text)
- Not determined
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye311598109-ca47-48ed-a877-671ad2141ca9
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