Flowers in a Crystal Vase
Flowers in a Crystal Vase
Flowers in a Crystal Vase
Flowers in a Crystal Vase
Flowers in a Crystal Vase

photo: Masatsugu Nokubo

Flowers in a Crystal Vase
Flowers in a Crystal Vase
Flowers in a Crystal Vase
Flowers in a Crystal Vase
Flowers in a Crystal Vase

Currently not on view

Flowers in a Crystal Vase,

undated; ca. 14th century

Anonymous
Chinese
Yuan dynasty, 1271–1368 | early Ming dynasty, 1368–1644
2002-345
Sprays of flowering peonies, red camellias, and plum blossoms are set in a blue crystal vase against a dark silk background. The cut stems are visible through the translucent vessel, which is positioned near the bottom of the image, suggesting that the painting may have hung directly behind a family altar table as a substitute for an actual floral centerpiece. Examples of ancestor paintings and temple wall murals sometimes depict central arrangements of such flowers on a table.
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More About This Object

Newsletter: Winter 2003

Information

Title
Flowers in a Crystal Vase
Dates

undated; ca. 14th century

Maker
Anonymous
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
Painting: 154.1 × 97.8 cm (60 11/16 × 38 1/2 in.) mount: 229.5 x 112 cm. (90 3/8 x 44 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund
Object Number
2002-345
Place Made

Asia, China

Signatures
unsigned
Marks/Labels/Seals
Seal: "Yin huo" 陰禍 (“obscured by calamity”), square relief
Culture
Chinese
Period
Yüan, Ming
Type
paintings, chinese painting styles, scroll paintings, hanging scrolls
Materials
ink, silk (textile)
Subject
vases, plum blossoms, peonies

–2002 Kaikodo Gallery (New York, NY), sold to the Princeton University Art Museum, 2002.

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