Object Image

Rose Mallows

In this hanging scroll, rose mallows, which symbolize longevity, grow next to a tall rock in a garden. In the inscription at the top left, Shen Zhou dedicates this painting and the included poem to an old friend: For ten years I had not seen Gengyunweng; White hair at his temples but his face young as a child's. His elder son assisted him to the city to buy medicine, Wishing to test the efficacy of ground cinnabar. On the fifth day of the fifth month, I encountered them, And as we drank, I painted for him this stalk of mallow scarlet. I hope he will view this flower each year, The square pupil of longevity, his for three hundred cycles.

Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust...

1475
Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper
49.8 x 17.5in
49-14
Image and text: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2023

Where you'll find this

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Permanent collection