Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus)
The composition features a pheasant-tailed jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus), distinctively rendered with its characteristic white head and neck, golden nape feathers, chocolate brown body, and dramatic elongated central tail feathers. The bird stands atop a mound with its long blue legs. Instead of depicting the bird at a water side, its preferred habitat and usual setup, the artist painted it on the land instead. The overall brushwork, in particular of the rock and plant, shows evident traces of traditional Chinese painting technique. The illustration combines precise ornithological documentation with artistic interpretation, characteristic of Chinese natural history paintings of this period.
Height: 184 mm
Width: 286 mm
Chinese
Chinese export art
Chinese export watercolour
Support composed of pith paper
Watercolour : Watercolour and body colour on pith paper
Accession number: 4205.6
Primary reference Number: 317655
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Paintings, Drawings and Prints
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2026) "Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus)" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/317655 Accessed: 2026-02-14 15:15:01
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/317655
|title=Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2026-02-14 15:15:01|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-317655
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