明　佚名　琴鶴圖　軸|Playing the zither for a crane

Unidentified artist

16th century · Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

In a landscape of his own design, a man plays music for his pet crane beneath a massive paulownia tree. Within this tightly curated microcosm, the fantastic rocks stand in for mountain ranges, the man-made pond for an ocean, and the foliage for dense forests, creating a safe and placid representation of nature for the enjoyment of a privileged elite.

Artist

Unidentified artist

Date

16th century

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morse, 1972