Collection Online as of April 2, 2023

Album of Miscellaneous Subjects

山水花鳥圖冊

early 1650s

Part of a set. See all set records

Fan Qi 樊圻

(Chinese, 1616-aft 1694)

China, Qing dynasty

(1644-1911)

Album of ten leaves; ink and light color on silk

Image: 12.6 x 17.3 cm (4 15/16 x 6 13/16 in.); Overall: 21 x 22 cm (8 1/4 x 8 11/16 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1975.22

Location

not on view

Description

Half of this album depicts landscapes; the other half depicts insects, birds, and natural subjects. Emanating peace and tranquility, Fan Qi’s landscapes reveal a quiescent vision and luminescence that lends an otherworldliness to his images. His insects and birds show his attention to minutiae and technical facility in the control of the brush.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Artist's signature on the tenth painting: Zhongling Fan Qi 鐘陵樊圻 ["Fan Qi of Zhongling" (Zhongling is another name for Nanjing.)] Artist's ten seals, one on each painting: Fan Qi 樊圻.

Inscription

10 poems, 1 colophon, and 29 additional seals: 1 poem and 3 seals of Wang Wu 王武 (1632–1690); 2 poems and 6 seals of Han Tan 韓菼 (1637–1704); 2 poems and 6 seals of Xu Fang 徐枋 (1622–1694); 4 poems and 10 seals of Zhou Yi 周儀 (mid 17th century–about 1705); 1 poem and 3 seals of Li Bing 李炳 (17th century); 1 colophon and 1 seal of Tomioka Tessai 富岡鐵齋 (1836-1924).

Inscription

Leaf 1. Poem by Wang Wu 王武 (1632–1690) A narrow path coiling, winds across rock foundations;/ Old vines and ancient trees meet the sunset's slanting rays./ Unaware that my small boat has gone so far,/ By the time it reverses its oars, the green mountains will be half-covered with clouds.

Inscription

Leaf 2. Poem by Han Tan 韓菼 (1637–1704) A thousand feet of red cliffs look like a sculptured flower of Fu-yung;/ In one glance, the long bridge joins adjacent ridges./ Furthermore a wine shop stands in a bamboo grove;/ The fellow who bought some good wine is drunk on the eastern shore of the stream.

Inscription

Leaf 3. Poem by Xu Fang 徐枋 (1622–1694) Green are the reeds, the sun not yet set;/ Tree foliage and mountain colors divide the lake in two halves./ A solitary recluse sits upon a flat bluff,/ Occasionally observing white clouds rising from the mountain tops.

Inscription

Leaf 4. Poem by Xu Fang 徐枋 (1622–1694) By chance, I start my journey from the watershed to remote regions,/ Suddenly I sight the silhouette of mountains - myriad expanses of green./ What is this "Come-flying" Peak which now does not recede,/ Its rocky walls, linked to heaven, are drenched by a waterfall.

Inscription Remark

Fei-lai (Come-flying) Peak, a rocky hill at West Lake, Hangzhou, was said to have flown there from its original site, the Vulture Peak in Central India.

Inscription

Leaf 5. Poem by Zhou Yi 周儀 (mid 17th century–about 1705) That stone path surrounded by streams - for whom was it created?/ Leaning on my staff, I walk and hum, arriving alone./ As soon as I ascend to gaze at these mountains, my happiness increases,/ Every morning the moistening dew makes slippery the green moss.

Inscription

Leaf 6. Poem by Zhou Yi 周儀 (mid 17th century–about 1705) The bright moon emerges through the willow,/ The fragrance of flowers is already difficult to retain./ Listening above these tall branches,/ I sense that faraway in my native place autumn has arrived./ Obstructed, all the diminished waters flow,/ Abruptly the sound of a lute wafts to and fro./ A strong wind, unabated, blows among, the willow branches.

Inscription

Leaf 7. Poem by Han Tan 韓菼 (1637–1704) Thoughts of autumn in the nuptial chamber with the new chill arising,/ The white frost all pervasive with a bright moon shining./ Outside the window, a crisp wind conveys the sound of crickets./ Within this quiet dream, I seem to sense the fragrance of orchids.

Inscription Remark

Folk superstition holds that dreaming of orchids foretells the birth of a son.

Inscription

Leaf 8. Poem by Li Bing 李炳 (17th century) Maple leaves drift in the wind, the autumn gusts bracing,/ Hibiscus flowers steeped with water, the evening breeze light./ The moonlight's slanting beams shine upon dreaming lovers./ No wonder that pair of fowl should dream of the absent partners.

Inscription Remark

The poem is an allusion to a Ming Play, Yuan Yang Meng 鴛鴦夢, by Ye Xiaowan 葉小纨 (c. 1613-c. 1657), in which two separated lovers can meet each other only in their dreams.

Inscription

Leaf 9. Poem by Zhou Yi 周儀 (mid 17th century–about 1705) Ancient trees share the slanting rays of the setting sun/ Chilly ravens hover round their branches/ The leader of the flock thinks this is a good place to rest,/ Evening being the time for returning./ This flock is the so-called a filial crow,/ Who, in disgorging their food [to feed their young], have compassionate hearts,/ Were the people in the world all like this,/ Fine talent would be everywhere.

Inscription

Leaf 10. Poem by Zhou Yi 周儀 (mid 17th century–about 1705) Green bamboo stand alone with a snowy covering,/ In the deep recesses of a secluded valley, the evening breeze is light./ White egrets are lean as shadows with the cold ripples frozen,/ They enter the gorge not just to admire the fish.

Provenance

Tomioka Tessai 富岡鐵齋 [1836–1924]

?-1975

(Robert G. Sawers [b. c. 1934], London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1975-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1975.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 63, no. 2, 1976, pp. 31–71. Reproduced: p. 70, cat. no. 155 www.jstor.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 357 archive.org

Ho, Wai-kam, Sherman E. Lee, Laurence Sickman, and Marc F. Wilson. Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1980. Reproduced: cat. no. 219, pp. 288-293

Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Reproduced: pp. 379–385

Exhibition history

Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 10-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982).

Main Asian Gallery Rotation (Gallery 122). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 4-July 23, 2003). 1975.22.2 only

Main Asian Gallery Rotation (Gallery 122). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 23-October 27, 2003). 1975.22.8 only

Main Asian Gallery Rotation (Gallery 122). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 27, 2003-March 10, 2004). 1975.22.9 only

Main Asian Gallery Rotation (Gallery 122). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 10-April 7, 2004). 1975.22.1 only

Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 242). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 7-July 7, 2015).

Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982).