Ema (Votive Painting) of a Chinese Lion and Peony Tree by Flowing Water

Colors in this work

Artist: Unknown artist
Date: 1631
Medium: Ink, color, and gold leaf on wood
Dimensions: 7 3/8 x 9 3/4 in. (18.7 x 24.8 cm)
Origin: Japan
Department: Asian Art
Holding institution: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Palette: Golden Bole · Yellow family · #9A8D5F · 34%

Parchment Ochre · Yellow family · #BCB18F · 13%

Olive Ground · Yellow family · #53503B · 11%

Fern Pigment · Green family · #667C53 · 8%

Olive Ground · Yellow family · #70623F · 7%

Olive Ground · Yellow family · #A67E3C · 7%

Olive Ground · Yellow family · #7D7147 · 4%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #A47D5F · 4%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #A6634F · 3%

Aged Vellum · Yellow family · #D5D1B0 · 3%

Etching Plate Gray · Gray family · #373C32 · 3%

Etching Plate Gray · Gray family · #484752 · 1%

Ochre Kiln · Orange family · #B47329 · 1%

Raw Walnut · Brown family · #5F4946 · 1%

Granite Face · Gray family · #736F64 · <1%

Vine Charcoal · Gray family · #42504E · <1%

Etching Plate Gray · Gray family · #423735 · <1%

Lavender Ash · Purple family · #BBA8B9 · <1%

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Image provider: metropolitan-museum-of-art
License: CC0-1.0
Credit: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975

10 tags

Animals Both · 99%

A large stylized lion-like animal dominates the right side of the image; the museum title identifies it as a Chinese lion and lists lions among the subjects.
Flora Both · 99%

A leafy flowering tree with large red blossoms appears at left; the title identifies a peony tree and the catalog lists trees as a subject.
Water Both · 90%

Green horizontal and curling forms appear beneath and around the figure, while the museum title specifically identifies the setting as flowing water.

Bright and Vivid Colors Visual · 88%

Strong red, green, ocher, and blue-black areas remain visibly distinct despite the work's age and fading.
Patterns Visual · 97%

The lion's body and mane use repeated spots, curls, and dots, and the dark border is regularly punctuated by pale circular marks.

Painting Both · 99%

The work is visibly a painted image on a wooden plaque, and the museum classifies it as a votive painting and painting.

17th Century Art Metadata · 99%

The work is dated 1631, placing it in the seventeenth century.

Gold Metadata · 98%

The museum records the medium as ink, color, and gold leaf on wood; small gold-colored areas are also visible across the plaque.
Wood Metadata · 99%

The museum identifies wood as the support, which is also visible through the exposed wood grain across the plaque.

Unknown artist. Ema (Votive Painting) of a Chinese Lion and Peony Tree by Flowing Water. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.