Four-panel Decorative Screen

This is a decorative screen composed of four panels of paper cut-outs with the theme of birds and flowers, respectively featuring camellia and parrots, peony and Chinese bulbuls, chrysanthemum and sparrows and Chinese roses and blue birds. The different characters of the four kinds of flowers, the splendor of peony blossoms and the perseverance of chrysanthemums, for instance, were illustrated to details. The birds, either flying in pairs or standing among flowers, add vitality and liveliness to the image. The artisan’s ingenious cutting skills are shown on the flowing lines and contrasts between light and shade, lines and planes, naturally folding leaves, and lively postures of birds, typical of Yangzhou paper-cuts.