height: 89.5 cm
width: 41.5 cm

The rectangular hanging kesi scroll is subtly worked with a design of mountain sparrows resting on the branch of a flowering magnolia tree; the branches arch over peony plants – also in full flower – beside ornamental rocks on a ledge of high ground. The composition stands out with great clarity against the background – this being completely void and left in the natural colour of the silk. The tapestry colours are pale and elegant, and additional details are added by brush and paint.

Three lines of calligraphy have been written on the left hand side of the mount, executed by the collector who owned the work – Hu Ruoyu (1894–1949), a senior ranking Kuomingtang official, who extols the virtues of the work’s fine quality and condition.

similar examples
‘Masterpieces of Chinese Silk Tapestry and Embroidery in the National Palace Museum’, Taipei, 1971 – plate 26.

‘Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – Embroidered Pictures’, Taipei, 2005 – plate 107.

‘Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – Textiles and Embroideries of the Ming and Qing Dynasties’, Taipei, 2005 – plates 11,12,13 and 14.