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The Four Seasons: Many Wonders of Summer Clouds
The Four Seasons: Many Wonders of Summer Clouds

The Four Seasons: Many Wonders of Summer Clouds

Original Language Title四季山水
CultureChinese
Date18th-19th century
MediumDali marble from Yunnan Province
DimensionsUnframed: 19 1/2 × 25 inches (49.53 × 63.5 cm)
Framed: 20 1/2 × 27 inches (52.07 × 68.58 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number59-76/1
On View
On view
Gallery Location
  • 202
Collections
Exhibition History

Flowers to Frost: Four Seasons in East Asian Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, July 18, 2015 - July 17, 2016.

Gallery Label

These seasonal landscapes are made from thinly cut sheets of marble with striking natural patterns. Each is carved with poetic inscriptions, reading counterclockwise from the top right:

• “Many shades of green on spring hills”

• “Many wonders of summer clouds”

• “Bright moonlight on the autumn stream”

• “Winter peaks hoard the snow”

According to ancient belief, displaying seasonal art in a home ensured smooth transitions between seasons and a peaceful year for the family.

Provenance

Edna H. Bahr, 1912;

Purchased from Edna H. Bahr by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1959.

Published References

Ross E. Taggart, George L. McKenna, and Marc F. Wilson, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. II, Art of the Orient. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 94. (repro.).

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