Peonies (early 1900s): Art, History and Details

Peonies (early 1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

By the late nineteenth century, peony paintings with bold designs and striking graphic stylization were increasingly produced and consumed by middle-class members because of its symbolic meaning: prosperity and wealth. This early 20th-century folding screen of peonies may have used for festive occasions such as weddings.

Object facts

• Title: Peonies
• Date: early 1900s
• Culture: Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392−1910) or Japanese colonial period (1910−1945)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Eight-panel folding screen; ink and color on silk
• Dimensions: Painting: 105.8 x 32.6 cm (41 5/8 x 12 13/16 in.); Overall framed: 180.2 x 368.4 cm (70 15/16 x 145 1/16 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Folding screen
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 2022.59

A detail from the museum

This early 20th-century folding screen has both sides painted with the image of bloomed peonies.

Collection credit

Gift of The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll, KM, and Roberta Carroll, M.D.

Further reading listed by the museum

• Sim, Sung-mi. "The Popularity of Peony Paintings and the Pursuit of Wealth in 19th-century Korea [19세기 모란도 성행과 조선사회의 부귀지향]." Gangjwa misulsa 46 (2016): 109-134.
• "Patterns and Decoration in the Joseon Dynasty." Asian Art Newspaper: Monthly for Collectors, Dealers, Museums and Galleries v.28: i.1 (November 2024).

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.