Peonies

Description This album of 16 paintings by artists active in Shanghai during the 1860s and 1870s is dedicated to the original owner, Mr. Xu Hongting. The red and white peonies are flowers of the summer months, and they are traditionally associated with wishes for prosperity and good fortune. In pairing the white and red flowers, the artist also inspires thoughts of harmony in marriage and strength within the family.

Provenance Xu Hongting [Hsü Hung-t'ing] [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Liu Song-bu [Liu Sung-pu], Shanghai [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Panama Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, China Pavilion, 1915 [no. 285]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1915, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1915