"Maehwado" Embroidered Folding Screen (Plum Blossoms)

The work: This is a folding screen with embroidered plum blossoms based on a painting by Yang Ki-hoon (1843–1919?), a late 19th- and early 20th-century painter.

It is a large 10-panel folding screen that would have been displayed in palaces. It is 396 cm wide and 277 cm high.

Sprawling branches are depicted underneath the stems.

The fact that the boldly drawn stalks and the original painter's dynamic brush strokes were transformed seamlessly into embroidery is a particularly appealing feature of this screen.

Juicy plum blossoms are painted in pink at the end of the stems, creating a colourful decorative effect.

This ceremonial folding screen was used in various celebratory occasions held at the royal court.

A poetic inscription and the painter's seal, "Shin (Royal Subject) Yang Gi-hun," are embroidered at the bottom left of the screen, making it clear that this screen was dedicated to the king.