Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) by a Lotus Pond
The composition features a pair of mandarin ducks (Aix galericulata) positioned on dark rocks beside a lotus pond. The male duck displays its characteristic ornate plumage with distinctive brown, blue, and white markings, while the female shows more subdued brown colouring with scaled patterns. Both birds are rendered with careful attention to their distinctive features, including the male's decorative crest and the female's more modest patterning. The setting includes a lotus pond with pink lotus flowers in various stages of bloom, from buds to full blossoms, accompanied by their characteristic round leaves. Tall bamboo or reed-like plants emerge from behind the rocks where the ducks rest. The artwork demonstrates a blend of naturalistic observation and traditional Chinese artistic conventions. The lotus flowers and rocks, in particular, show strong influences of traditional Chinese painting techniques in their execution. The composition creates a harmonious scene that symbolically represents marital fidelity, as mandarin ducks are traditionally viewed as symbols of conjugal faithfulness in Chinese culture. The illustration combines precise ornithological documentation with artistic interpretation, characteristic of Chinese natural history paintings of this period.
Height: 182 mm
Width: 290 mm
Chinese
Chinese export art
Chinese export watercolour
Support composed of pith paper
Watercolour : Watercolour and body colour on pith paper
Accession number: 4205.8
Primary reference Number: 317660
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 (2025) "Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) by a Lotus Pond" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/317660 Accessed: 2025-12-29 22:37:42
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/317660
|title=Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) by a Lotus Pond
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-29 22:37:42|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-317660
Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...