Japanese Velvet Scroll Painting of Magpies and Chrysanthemums

This unusual painting on silk and velvet is originally from a 19th-century Japanese handscroll. The painting depicts a quiet scene of two black and white magpies flitting amidst chrysanthemum, beautifully drawn with delicate linework and a soft, subdued palette. One magpie rests on a trellis of spotted bamboo, while the other dives behind large purple spider chrysanthemum blossoms. A common motif in Japanese and Chinese art, the pairing of magpies and chrysanthemums conveys the visual idiom "may the entire family be content."