🎨 清十八/十九世紀初《緙絲蟠桃大會圖掛幅》https://www.sothebys.com/zh/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/fine-chinese-ceramics-works-art-l15210/lot.122.html
To mortals, peaches are sweet fruit, but in Chinese myth, they’re the banquet of eternity.
Once every few thousand years, the Queen Mother of the West hosts the fabled Peach Banquet (蟠桃會) at her Jade Pool Palace, where immortals gather not for 1/2
#mythology #painting
Imperial robe of yellow satin embroidered by couching narrow strips of braided silk in shades of blue, rose, pink, green, yellow, mauve, aubergine, and red to the ground. Nine five-clawed dragons in blue with accents of red, pink, and white. Loosely drawn clouds on ground. Border of slanting wavy stripes in above colors with clouds separating stripes from rolling waves across which a group of bats fly to left and right of central mountain motif. Upper section of border design repeated at elbows of sleeves which are finished with a section of blister-ribbed satin terminating in dark blue satin cuffs embroidered with a dragon, clouds, etc., in same technique as body of robe. Collar and front band of same dark blue edged with narrow band of blue and gold brocade. Coat slit at sides and lined with thin yellow silk having good luck design on a fretwork ground. This chang-fu robe displays the standard formal arrangement of eight medallions set against a solid color ground. Each of the multicolored medallions contains a crane rounded in the center, surrounded by seasonal flowers (lotus, plum, magnolia, peony, and chrysanthemum). The neck and sleeve bands, as well as the cuffs, are decorated with multicolored crane roundels and seasonal flowers matching the body. The crane stands for long life, the flowers for purity, beauty, wealth and honor, as well as the four seasons. The red ground was an appropriate color for festive occasions like weddings and birthday celebrations.
Manchu Empress' Semiformal Court Robe https://collections.artsmia.org/art/17026/
rocky landscape with waterfall at R; builidng nestled between rocks at L, preceeded by steps; from an album of 12 drawings in ink and wash; short inscription and stamps in red Born in Kiangsu province, Wang Ch'en was a descendant of the great literatus Wang Shih-min and a great grandson of the artist Wang Yuan-ch'i. He served for a while in the Grand Secretariat and as a prefect in Hunan province. Wang's illustrious family heritage strengthened his reputation as an orthodox painter and he is one of the so-called Four Minor Wangs of the later Ch'ing. Wang's inscriptions here indicate that the basis for this album of large landscapes was the natural scenery of Ch'u, a Warring States (480-221 BCE) kingdom located south of the Yangtze River. In 1774, Wang was serving as a low-level official in this region. His inscriptions also mention earlier poets and painters whose conceptual and stylistic influences along with natural scenery inspired the various scenes here, which were based on sketches made at the sites themselves. The inscriptions read: 1) The landscape of Ch'u is extremely scenic. I came across one place and sketched it but neglected to ask its name. 2) One morning I entered the sea in search of Li Po; looking in vain among the paintings of mere mortals for the "Immortal of Ink." 3) The ceremonial burial mounds and Szechuan are neat. This is a scene of entering the gorge. 4) I have used the brushwork of Shu-ming (Wang Meng) to paint the style of Old Man Sung-hsueh (Chao Meng-fu). There is resemblance because they are from the same family.
Album Leaf, from "Landscapes from Nature, Poetry, and Art" https://collections.artsmia.org/art/64090/
In the Tang Dynasty, the Shuitianyi (水田衣), or Patchwork Robe, appeared in poetry and fashion. Made from leftover brocade pieces, its design echoed rice paddies seen from above—colorful, irregular, yet harmonious. More than a hanfu style, it reflected a mindful reuse of beauty 1/2
Baby Carrier, collected from the Bahau Tribe on the Mahakam River, Kalimantan, Borneo. Wood lined with cotton. Exterior covered with beadwork, cowrie and shell decoration, chains and strings of beads.
Baby Carrier https://collections.artsmia.org/art/25243/
one of pair of Bodhisattvas crowned, seated in Dhyana (meditation) mudra on thrones with flame halo; gilt bronze; Tibetan Such popular Buddhist images as Avalokitesvara, the compassionate one, were occasionally produced in sets. Since the act of making or commissioning a religious work was considered pious in itself, those who could afford it often commissioned multiple images. Here the jeweled and crowned deity is represented as a perfectly poised yogi seated in the lotus posture on a dais, the hands placed together in the lap forming the dhyana mudra, the gesture of meditation. The figures are set off by aureoles adorned with a flame motif representing purity. The identical inscriptions written in Chinese characters across the bases read: "Reverently made in the Kang-yin year of Qianlong (1770) during the great Qing Dynasty."
Bodhisattva, one of a pair https://collections.artsmia.org/art/2332/
🎨 《仙人乘槎渡海圖》（傳）元 盛子昭
In Chinese #mythology, a "xingcha" (星槎), or "star raft," is a wooden vessel said to carry immortals across the heavens. Made of bamboo and wood like a humble raft ("cha", 槎), it was believed to sail through the stars, bridging Earth and the celestial realm. To ancient dreamers, 1/2
5 men unrolling and viewing a hanging scroll in an outdoor setting; man at R holds a small vessel In a mountainous setting dominated by a venerable pine, five old men gather around a painting of Shoulao, the god of immortality. The inscription on the painting provides the reason for this choice of subject matter. It reads: During the eighth lunar month of the year, 1653, painted to wish old Kui prosperity and longevity on his fiftieth birthday. Xicun (West Village), Yu Ling. Virtually everything in the painting carries Daoist connotations of longevity, including the pine and rocks, the medicinal fungus tied to the walking staff, the rhinoceros horn cup, and the double gourd held by two of the men containing no doubt the elixir of immortality. Within the painting being viewed, Shoulao, Immortal of the Southern Pole, is accompanied by cranes, pine, and deer, all standard metaphors for long life. The style of Yu Ling's painting is that of the Zhe school of artists that flourished in the Zhejiang city of Hangzhou during much of Ming. Not surprisingly, Yu Ling is recorded as having spent most of his career working in that same city.
Immortals Beneath the Pine Tree https://collections.artsmia.org/art/46877/
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