Lot Essay
Li Bo (701-762; also known as Li Bai and Li Taibo) was a famous poet and essayist under the Tang dynasty, known for his great fondness for wine. Originally a hard-drinking recluse, he was brought to the attention of the Emperor and was appointed an official on account of the beauty of his writings, but later fled to escape the jealousies of others close to the throne. He died when he fell off a boat in a drunken effort to embrace the moon, leaving behind thirty volumes of works. It is not without cause that he was known as the 'genius of wine'.
The two scenes portrayed on the vase are from the San Guo Zhi, or 'History of the Three Kingdoms', Wei, Shu and Wu, which existed simultaneously after the fall of the Han dynasty, from AD 222 to 265.
The two scenes portrayed on the vase are from the San Guo Zhi, or 'History of the Three Kingdoms', Wei, Shu and Wu, which existed simultaneously after the fall of the Han dynasty, from AD 222 to 265.