Two Sparrows on a Blossoming Prunus Branch

Birds and flowers are paired with seasons in Chinese art, and here a pair of sparrows are perching closely on a branch of wax prunus in the cold of winter. Wax prunus (lamei) has blossoms resembling those of the plum, but its petals are translucent and waxlike. These effects are captured in this painting by edging the petals with opaque white and leaving the center bare so that the silk ground shows through. Because of its beauty and unusual fragrance, the wax prunus became one of the most popular flowers of winter. The scorched leaves suggest the Southern Song date of this work because painters of the time were particularly interested in depicting scenes of decay in nature. In the later dynasties, magpies were often depicted on plum twigs in winter, formulating a visual pun of “happiness appears on the eyebrows (xishang meishao).”