Birds Gather under the Spring Willow

Also known as: Hundred Birds Admiring the Peacocks; Birds Gather under the Spring Willow 春柳聚禽圖

About the Artwork

This scroll depicts a spring scene with all kinds of birds, including one peacock with a hen among peonies. The painting is one of four surviving works by Yin Hong bearing his signature and seals. Some scholars debate whether this work depicts the theme “One Hundred Birds admiring the Phoenix,” a metaphor for human society presenting an idealized hierarchy under imperial rule; other scholars argue that peafowls, as exotic birds not native to China, would not be depicted to represent the emperor. This large painting might have been hung in a palace hall and may have been part of a set depicting the four seasons.

Inscriptions

殷宏. [印]金臺世家

Provenance

?–November 1917: Marquis Yoshitaka Satake 侯爵佐竹義理 [1858–1914] November 3–5, 1917: (Tōkyō Bijutsu Club 東京美術俱樂部, Tokyo, Japan, November 3–5, 1917 sale, The Collection of the Marquis Satake Family 佐竹候爵家御蔵) ?–1974: (Fugendo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1974–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1974. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 11-April 6, 1975). Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982). Sesshu, Master of Ink and Brush: 500th Anniversary Exhibition. Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan (organizer) (April 23-May 19, 2002). Layers of Meaning: China’s Flora and Fauna in Painting and on Porcelain. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 6, 2020-June 6, 2021).

Quick Overview

Artist: Yin Hong (Chinese, c. 1430-c. 1500)
Date: late 1400s–early 1500
Medium: hanging scroll, ink and color on silk
Dimensions: Painting: 240 x 195.5 cm (94 1/2 x 76 15/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 280 x 204 cm (110 1/4 x 80 5/16 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Chinese Art
Credit line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession no.: 1974.31

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.