Planting Fragrant Fungus at Tiaozhou Pillow

Painted around 1627 by the late-Ming artist Chen Guan, this work depicts a scholar planting fragrant lingzhi fungus, prized in Chinese tradition as a symbol of longevity and immortality, at the Tiaozhou'an hermitage. The scene reflects the literati ideal of scholar-gardening, in which cultivating rare and symbolically rich plants became a meditative extension of a scholar's moral and intellectual life. The Art Institute of Chicago holds this painting as an example of the close relationship between garden culture and literati painting in late-Ming China.

Jacquard-woven both sides in soft, durable yarn; insert included.