Chinese Fan-Form Painting by Liu Hong Wei, Framed

A single pink peony, and a very poised one.

A fan-form painting from Guangdong Province, China, this work is on paper and framed behind a wide cream mat. Fan-shaped compositions were a long-standing format in Chinese painting, and peonies are often associated with prosperity and spring. The bloom is done in layered pink with delicate darker petals, set against green leaves and a branch. A vertical line of calligraphy and red seals sits along the right edge. The ground is a faded, speckled grey-green. A dark wooden frame surrounds it.

About seventeen inches high and twenty-nine wide. Gentle color, steady nerves, and a good partner for its twin.