Lotus Flowers and Birds

Swallows and kingfishers fly among blooming lotus flowers in this folding screen, which would have likely been displayed during the summer months to decorate a room or a study. While commonly associated with purity in Buddhist thought, lotuses in Korea also symbolized gentlemanly virtues and noble character of the Confucian scholar, the ideal of the elite. As the lotus rises from the muddy water to bloom on the water’s surface, so too does a Confucian scholar’s virtue and honor remain untainted by the world around him.