A VERY LARGE FAMILLE VERTE DISH

KANGXI PERIOD

Details

A VERY LARGE FAMILLE VERTE DISH
KANGXI PERIOD
Enamelled with three tiers of panels surrounding a central scene, all illustrating the Romance of the Western Chamber, the rim with a band of various cell-patterns and auspicious objects, the underside with an underglaze blue artemisia leaf mark within a double circle
20 in. (50.8 cm.) diameter

Lot Essay

The Romance of the Western Chamber, or Xi Xiang Ji, is a well-known tale which has its origins in a 8th/9th century prose story called Yingying Zhuan (The Biography of Yingying). By the 12th Century it had developed into a long ballad and acquired a happy ending, remaining popular ever since. The story concerns the romance between Zhang Sheng, a talented but poor scholar, and Cui Yingying, a beautiful maiden, whose mother Madam Zheng will not allow the couple to marry. She sends Zhang away to the capital to seek his fortune (through scholarly achievement). In the end he is successful and claims Yingying as his bride.

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