The King of Flowers: Peonies in Korean Art, from Palace Screens to Your Nightstand

Three peony blossoms in faded rose, sage green and ink grey stacked on speckled paper-toned ground, Heirpetal Korean peony print

In Korea the peony has a title: the king of flowers. For centuries it stood for one wish above most others, bugwi (부귀), wealth and honor. You will find it on embroidered pillows, wedding chests and porcelain, and above all on folding screens taller than the people standing in front of them.

A queen who read a painting

The peony's best-known Korean story is about a painting. According to the Samguk Yusa, a 13th-century collection of histories and legends, Emperor Taizong of Tang sent Queen Seondeok of Silla peony seeds along with a picture of the flowers. The queen studied it and said the flowers would have no fragrance. When the seeds bloomed, she was proved right. Asked how she knew, she pointed out that the painting showed no butterflies.

Many readers have taken the missing butterflies as a veiled jab at a ruler without a husband, and the queen's reply as a quiet win. (Real peonies, for the record, are often fragrant. The story is about reading a picture, not botany.)

Peony screens at court

By the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897), peonies had their own place in palace ritual. Large painted folding screens of peonies, called moranbyeong or morando, came in four, six or eight panels. Some show the flowers growing from garden rocks; others show only tall stalks, bloom after bloom, repeating across the panels. One four-panel screen at the National Palace Museum of Korea stands about three meters tall.

The screens appeared at palace banquets, royal weddings and other court events. What surprises most visitors is that they were also used throughout royal funeral rites. A 2021 exhibition at the National Palace Museum, "Peonies: Flowers of Peace and Prosperity," traced the peony through those ceremonies, where the screens carried a prayer for the peace and prosperity of the country, in mourning as well as in celebration.

Scholars also note that screens of repeating peonies seem to be a Joseon creation; comparable screens were not made in China. And the flower did not stay in the palace. Peonies became one of the most loved subjects in minhwa, the folk paintings made for ordinary homes.

Our peonies: three blooms, no butterflies

Digital room mockup: the peony print as a 4x6 in a small black frame on a wooden nightstand beside a mug and a linen lamp; frame not included

Our Korean Peony print takes the court screen's habit of repetition and makes it small. Three blossoms rise one above another on speckled, paper-toned ground: a faded rose, a pale sage green and a soft ink grey. The stems are a few fine lines. There are no rocks, no gold, and, like the painting Queen Seondeok was sent, no butterflies.

The muted colors are on purpose. A palace screen was meant to fill a hall; this is meant for a nightstand, a bookshelf or a narrow wall by a window, where three quiet flowers do more than a full bouquet.

About the print

  • Unframed giclée print on enhanced matte art paper.
  • Three sizes: 4x6, 8x10 and 11x14 inches. 4x6 and 8x10 ship flat; 11x14 ships rolled in a tube.
  • US orders are printed and shipped within the United States by our print partner.
  • Designs are created with the help of AI tools and art-directed by our studio.

See the Korean Peony print on Etsy · Read: The Tiger and the Magpie · Browse the Heirpetal shop · Read: Korean Art Gift Ideas

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