Korean Watercolor on Silk of Tiger and Cubs, 18th-19th Century

Item Details

Artist unknown (Korean)
Untitled (Tiger and Cubs), 18th-19th century
Watercolor and Ink wash painting on silk panel
Inscribed 癸卯夏日…讧韓周…" to the upper right
Two red seals are present to the upper right

An 18th-early 19th century Korean painted silk panel of a tiger with cubs. The composition is a traditional Ming painting theme of Tiger with Cubs featuring a mother tiger caring for her rambunctious cubs. The tigress is sitting in the ‘watching from the height’ attitude, with her head lowered and haunches raised, closely observing her cubs. This painting has remarkable similarities to a painting in the Tokai-an Temple in Kyoto, Japan by an anonymous Ming artist. (Sung, p. 169) The piece is inscribed to the upper right and includes two red seals to the upper right. The composition is presented behind acrylic glass, beneath silk matting and housed in a wood frame. The painting and mounting silks are affixed to a board.

References
Sung, Hou-mei. Decoded Messages: The Symbolic Language of Chinese Animal Painting (2009), p. 169.

Condition

- minor wear and dents throughout the frame; minor fraying and toning throughout silk surface; negligible areas of discoloration throughout the painting; painting and mounting silks are affixed to the board; staining to mounting silks.

Dimensions

- measures the frame; sight size 21.5" W x 37.5" H.

Item #

ITMG178737