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Korean
Embroidered hanging scroll with poem, bamboo and plum flowers (1953-1958)
silk, silk (thread), paper
44.8 × 32.9 cm (image)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Gwenda and Robert Thomas in memory of Irene Watkins, 2019
Photo: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
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Embroidered hanging scroll with poem, bamboo and plum flowers
(1953-1958)
Medium
silk, silk (thread), paper
Measurements
44.8 × 32.9 cm (image)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Gwenda and Robert Thomas in memory of Irene Watkins, 2019
Gallery location
Level 1, NGV International
About this work
This embroidered hanging scroll features a poem alongside plum flowers and bamboo. The poem translates as follows: ‘If you hear a heartrending voice calling / It is me sending my mind to the place you went over the sea’ and signed ‘Young-gyuk’. Plum blossoms and bamboo, noted for thriving in harsh conditions, are symbols of humility and strength and display Confucian qualities in Korean art. The scroll was presented as a parting gift to the Melbourne Presbyterian missionary Irene ‘Rene’ Watkins (1913–89) after her five-year stay in Korea ending in 1958.