Currently not on view
Quince (Mugua),
1690
Zhu Da 朱耷, 1626–1705
Chinese
Qing dynasty, 1644–1912
2008-345
For the ink artist Zhu Da (also known as Bada Shanren), the use of rich gold and rose colors in this painting of a branch bearing quince fruits is rare. Calligraphic ink lines define the branch and outline the fruit and leaves. An unusual subject in Chinese painting, the quince had become symbolic of protecting the Buddhist Law, but here it may instead refer to a friend of the artist who was called the Daoist of Quince Mountain. Inscribed “Painted by Bada Shanren,” this painting was originally part of a larger album of images of flowers and calligraphy that is dated 1690.
Information
Title
Quince (Mugua)
Dates
1690
Maker
Medium
Album leaf mounted as hanging scroll; ink and colors on paper
Dimensions
Painting: 20 x 14.6 cm. (7 7/8 x 5 3/4 in.)
Mount: 116.8 x 33 cm. (46 x 13 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund, in memory of Ellen B. Elliott
Object Number
2008-345
Place Made
Asia, China
Inscription
Artist inscription: 八大山人畫 "Bada Shanren hua" (Painted by Bada Shanren)
Marks/Labels/Seals
Artist seal:
"Jiao xue ban" 學學半 (teaching is half of learning; also pronounced “Xiao xue ban”), tall rect. relief (upper right)
Meanings： (A) 教學後方知學習之苦; (B) 做學問最怕半途而廢; (C) 教人可以增益自己的學識; (D) 學習可以達到事半功倍之效。
Culture
Period
Materials
Subject
–1991 Edward L. Elliott Family Collection (Princeton, NJ), withdrawn from Christie’s (New York, NY): Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy from the Ellen B. Elliott Collection auction (Nov. 14, 1991), lot 27.
1991?–2008 David and Elaine Elliott (Yarmouth, ME), sold to the Princeton University Art Museum, 2008.
- Wen C. Fong, Images of the mind: selections from the Edward L. Elliott family and John B. Elliott collections of Chinese calligraphy and painting at the Art Museum, Princeton University, (Princeton, NJ: The Art Museum, Princeton University, 1984)., cat. no. 45
- "Acquisitions of the Princeton University Art Museum 2008," Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 68 (2009): p. 69-119., p. 94
