Lily and Butterflies

About the Artwork

The bird is represented in pale ink, probably sketched in before the darker ink was used to finish the rock. Like the butterfly and moth above, his tail feathers echo the bamboo as well as the leaves and petals of the flowers. The Chinese wagtail can connote brotherly love. The daylily was used for various pharmaceutical purposes, especially for deadening pain in childbirth. It was also considered efficacious in relieving grief and aiding in the production of sons. The lily is in fact the real subject of this painting: it is the common symbol for motherly love. Hence, the lingering of the butterfly over a lily can signify a son's love, devotion, and yearning for his mother—the refuge from worldly woes.

Inscriptions

萱蝶圖; Artist's 3 seals: Zhongxiao chuanjia [filial loyalty handed down in family 忠孝傳家]; Liu Shanshou yin 劉善守印; Suizhai 綏齋.; 9 additional seals: 1 of Liang Qingbiao 梁清標 (1620–1691); 1 of Nalan Chengde (納蘭成德) [later known as Nalan Xingde 納蘭性德] (1655–1685); 3 of Zhang Daqian 張大千 (1899–1983); 1 of Wang Jiqian [C. C. Wang] 王季遷 (1907–2003); 3 unidentified.

Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1971. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1971-February 6, 1972). The Colors of Ink. Asia House Galleries (January 10-March 3, 1974); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 9-May 12, 1974). 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). Scholar's Studio. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19-December 17, 1989). Pacific Standard Time: Growing and Knowing in the Gardens of China. The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA (organizer) (September 14, 2024-January 6, 2025) https://huntington.org/exhibition/duotiangong-growing-and-knowing-gardens-china.

Quick Overview

Artist: Liu Shanshou (Chinese, active 1300s)
Date: 1300s
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on silk
Dimensions: Painting: 160 x 58.4 cm (63 x 23 in.); Overall with knobs: 277.7 x 85.2 cm (109 5/16 x 33 9/16 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Chinese Art
Credit line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession no.: 1971.132

Provenance

1600s: Liang Qingbiao 梁清標 [1620–1691] ? by 1943–?: Zhang Daqian 張大千 [1899–1983] ?–1971: C. C. Wang 王季遷 [1907–2003], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1971–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

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