Inscribing a Banana Leaf, from the album Figures in Settings
Artist/Maker
Zhāng Hóng 张宏 / 張宏
(Chinese, 1577–1668)
Date1649
MediumAlbum leaf, ink and color on silk
DimensionsImage: 11 1/4 × 8 in. (28.6 × 20.3 cm)
Mount: 14 5/8 × 9 9/16 in. (37.1 × 24.3 cm)
Mount: 14 5/8 × 9 9/16 in. (37.1 × 24.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of Carol S. Brooks in honor of her father, George J. Schlenker, and R. T. Miller Jr. Fund
PortfolioFigures in Settings
Object number1997.29.14F
Status
Not on viewTitle inscription: 題蕉
A scholar stands on a garden rock, writing on the large leaf of a banana tree. Two smaller servants stand at the ready: one, in blue, holds the man’s ink stone and looks down at the other, who carries a tray with a pitcher of wine and a cup on a lacquered stand.
There are many tales from imperial China of scholars so urgent to record their spontaneous verse that they jot it on the nearest surface, often a trunk of bamboo, a stone, or a banana leaf. Writing on banana leaves was also associated with diligence and frugality: the famous calligraphy master Huáisù 懷素 (737–799) was so poor as a boy that he couldn’t afford paper, and used banana leaves to practice writing.
Exhibition History
A scholar stands on a garden rock, writing on the large leaf of a banana tree. Two smaller servants stand at the ready: one, in blue, holds the man’s ink stone and looks down at the other, who carries a tray with a pitcher of wine and a cup on a lacquered stand.
There are many tales from imperial China of scholars so urgent to record their spontaneous verse that they jot it on the nearest surface, often a trunk of bamboo, a stone, or a banana leaf. Writing on banana leaves was also associated with diligence and frugality: the famous calligraphy master Huáisù 懷素 (737–799) was so poor as a boy that he couldn’t afford paper, and used banana leaves to practice writing.
The Cultured Landscape in China and Japan
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 6, 2007 - August 13, 2007 )
A Century of Asian Art at Oberlin: Chinese Paintings
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (June 6, 2017 - December 10, 2017 )
Collections
- Asian
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