Chinese graceful watercolor painting of pomegranate branches with fruit on pastel background. Signed by the artist with stamp, lower left . Painting measures 16.75" height x 15" width, framed. 0.5" height x 9.3" width within mat. Introduced to China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), the pomegranate (Chinese: ??; pinyin: shíliu), in older times, was considered an emblem of fertility and numerous progeny. This symbolism is a pun on the Chinese character ? (zi) which, as well as meaning seed, also means "offspring", thus a fruit containing so many seeds is a sign of fecundity.