Celebration: the Birthday in Chinese Art November 18, 2010

Birthday celebrations and concomitant themes of longevity are pervasive in Chinese art of the Ming and Qing dynasties. A recurring scene of a splendid reception at the residence of a wealthy family, represented in a lacquered screen, a set of embroidered hanging scrolls, and a porcelain vase, shows the eightieth birthday gathering for the Tang-dynasty general Guo Ziyi, a popular figure of long life, wealth, and honor. Longevity is also encoded in peaches, cranes, immortals, and flora and fauna of many kinds, sometimes forming sophisticated visual word play expressing wishes of long life for the honoree. The exhibition will draw together works in many media from the Museum's collection to illuminate these auspicious themes.