A View of Chinese Gardens
(from 5th Aug until 30th Nov 2014)Explore the 'Four Gentlemen' of Chinese flowers and garden scenes from the Ashmolean collections.
Garden plants
Some of the plants depicted here include those from the Rosaceae family, which is cultivated in China as an ornamental plant, and plantain trees, which are regarded as ‘tropical’ foliage. Plantain leaves have been favoured as one of the ‘fourteen treasures’ of scholars, and it was considered elegant to write on these leaves. The sound of rain drops on plantain leaves was also an important aesthetic aspect of Chinese gardens and this theme appears in many poems.
Lotus plants are an important symbol in Buddhism, representing the achievement of enlightenment after experiencing and overcoming sufferings.
Birds in plantain leaves (EA1995.175.b)
Flowers in a Vase (EA1995.175.i)
Calligraphy from a poem and wisteria (EA1995.175.l)
Cinnabar lotus (LI2022.172)
Peonies (LI2022.173)
Bowl with a pomegranate spray, plum blossoms, and bamboo (EA1956.3970)
Notice
Objects from past exhibitions may have now returned to our stores or a lender. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so please contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.
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