Shen Quan Chinese Painting Print – Branch Magpie

Shen Quan's magpie calls from the branch: the bird's contrasting plumage drawn with decorative precision, plum blossom and bamboo framing the scene, the branch's diagonal giving the composition its energy. In Chinese the pairing has a name — xique deng mei, "magpie atop plum" — and it is a pun for joy arriving: the bird of glad tidings on the flower of winter endurance. It is the bird of good news, delivering, on the branch that promises spring.

The magpie is drawn with the court's polish: black-and-white plumage in fine strokes, the long tail's elegant sweep, the bright eye alert for the news it carries. The plum blossom brings its winter perfume — pale petals on dark, gnarled wood; the bamboo its upright green. The gongbi manner renders every element with jewel-like care, feather and petal alike.

Good-news birds suit entryways, studies, anywhere glad tidings are welcome — this is a traditional housewarming gift for good reason. The print is sold as the unmounted core alone, no frame or scroll, ready for framing to your taste. A cheerful, auspicious piece.