Love Birds in Basket with Flowering Vines, 1804 Watercolor in Antique Lemon Gold Frame carved wooden spiked comb and a pig…) but always

and a pig…) but always with a very particular look and a definite homeliness that makes them very endearing—and  of course I’ve come to feel the more wounded and distinctive the better

and there are traces of the powdered color all over it

from the estate of a cat fanatic

who over the course of the 32 cards encounters a cast of characters from  pig to cat to spider to baby

and by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) had become one of its most appreciated art forms

Love Birds in Basket with Flowering Vines, 1804 Watercolor in Antique Lemon Gold Frame carved wooden spiked comb and a pig…) but alwaysThe back of this charming watercolor is dated, in graphite, 1804 which of course I forgot to photograph when I had it out of the frame, but it is easy to open and see. A sign of spring arriving 222 years ago! I can't resist a watercolor like this, and love the way both the straw of the nest and the weave of the rich yellow basket were invested with a great deal of attention. And then these love birds themselves, full of life and also quite relatable,