Bunch of Flowers With Calamus
Painting
1597-1658 (made)
1597-1658 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This hanging scroll, showing a bunch of flowers bound together with calamus, was painted by Xiang Shenmo 項聖謨 (1597-1658). Xiang was born into a distinguished scholar-official family in Jiaxing 嘉興, Zhejiang province 浙江, and his grandfather was the great art collector Xiang Yuanbian 項元汴 (1525-1590). He specialised in landscape and flowers, and over the years he developed a highly distinctive style. Typically he used 'boneless' ink washes to portrait flowers and plants in a descriptive manner, as demonstrated in this work. The painting is signed on the right, above one of the many seals Xiang used in his works. The same seal also appears in an album of flower paintings dated 1643, which might suggest that this scroll was produced around the same time, the year before the fall of the Ming dynasty. At the bottom left of the painting is the seal of an unidentified collector, reading: 'Calligraphy and Painting treasured in the collection of Mr Gao.'
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Bunch of Flowers With Calamus (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in ink on paper |
| Brief description | Bunch of Flowers with Calamus, Xiang Shengmo (1597-1658), hanging scroll, ink on paper, China |
| Physical description | The scroll shows a bunch of flowers bound together with calamus. The artists signature is above his seal. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Content description | a bunch of flowers bound together with calamus |
| Style | |
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions | Xiang Shengmo bi
|
| Gallery label | Xiang was born into a distinguished scholar-official family in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province. His grandfather was the art collector Xiang Yuanbian (1525–90). Xiang signed this painting on the lower right-hand side, above one of his seals. A later collector’s seal is impressed in the bottom left corner.(17/01/2017) |
| Credit line | Given by Sir Harry and Lady Garner |
| Object history | At the bottom left of the painting is the seal of an unidentified collector Mr. Gao. It was given by Sir Harry and Lady Garner to the Museum. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This hanging scroll, showing a bunch of flowers bound together with calamus, was painted by Xiang Shenmo 項聖謨 (1597-1658). Xiang was born into a distinguished scholar-official family in Jiaxing 嘉興, Zhejiang province 浙江, and his grandfather was the great art collector Xiang Yuanbian 項元汴 (1525-1590). He specialised in landscape and flowers, and over the years he developed a highly distinctive style. Typically he used 'boneless' ink washes to portrait flowers and plants in a descriptive manner, as demonstrated in this work. The painting is signed on the right, above one of the many seals Xiang used in his works. The same seal also appears in an album of flower paintings dated 1643, which might suggest that this scroll was produced around the same time, the year before the fall of the Ming dynasty. At the bottom left of the painting is the seal of an unidentified collector, reading: 'Calligraphy and Painting treasured in the collection of Mr Gao.' |
| Bibliographic reference | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | FE.5-1974 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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