General Guo Ziyi’s Birthday Banquet

early or mid-1800s

General Guo Ziyi’s Birthday Banquet, early or mid-1800s. Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). Eight-panel folding screen, embroidery on silk; painting: 60.9 x 30 cm (24 x 11 13/16 in.); overall framed: 195.2 x 332.4 cm (76 7/8 x 130 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, gift of the honorable Joseph P. Carroll, KM, and Roberta Carroll, M.D., in recognition of the contribution of Marjorie Williams to the development of The Cleveland Museum of Art 2020.87 The subject of this folding screen is a banquet in honor of Guo Ziyi (697–781), who is considered one of the greatest generals in Chinese history. He had a long and successful military career as well as a blissful family life. Thus, his image surrounded by his numerous family members symbolize the paragon of success and happiness. Using a wide spectrum of colorful silk threads, the artist colorfully depicts Guo enjoying his full-fledged retirement life. This folding screen is highly likely to have been created by an amateur woman embroiderer.