象牙插屏|Pair of Table Screens with Flowers and Birds

Unknown

17th century · Ivory · Asian Art

Ducks and water plants are incised into one of this pair of screens; small birds perched on plum blossoms adorn the other. Both images are inspired by poems engraved on the backs of the screens. One, by Zhu Xi (1130–1200), describes the tranquil sound of the swimming ducks. The other, by an unidentified poet, refers to the opening of the petals of a tea plum.

Artist

Unknown

Date

17th century

Medium

Ivory

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1913