Gathering at Lanting (Orchid Pavilion) (1400s–1500s): Art, History and Details

Gathering at Lanting (Orchid Pavilion) (1400s–1500s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This lacquer panel, perhaps part of a piece of furniture, depicts the Gathering at Lanting in 353 CE that took place during the Spring Purification Festival, a day spent traditionally outside in nature. Here, cups of wine are set afloat on a winding stream as part of a poetry competition among the attendants. By the Ming dynasty the painting theme Gathering at Lanting also appeared on lacquer, jade, and porcelain. The main figure and central motif, Calligrapher Wang Xizhi Watching Geese, has been moved toward the upper register of the composition.

Object facts

• Title: Gathering at Lanting (Orchid Pavilion)
• Date: 1400s–1500s
• Culture: China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
• Type: Lacquer
• Technique: Carved cinnabar-red lacquer
• Dimensions: Overall: 48.5 x 21 cm (19 1/8 x 8 1/4 in.)
• Collection: China - Ming Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1974.72

A detail from the museum

A stylized wave pattern represents water; land areas are covered in an overall diamond pattern.

Collection credit

Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Christie, Manson & Woods, London. The Frederick M. Mayer Collection of Chinese Art. June 24–25, 1974 sale. Lot 123.
• Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1974.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3 (March 1975): 62–102.
• “Annual Report for 1974.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 6 (June 1975): 175–209.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.