SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY (1127-1279)

Jan Wirgin, in Sung Ceramic Design, London, 1979, pp. 179-81, speculates that the motif depicting boys amidst floral scroll was influenced by Indian cave art and the Tang dynasty Buddhist motif of reborn souls shown on lotus flowers. By the Song dynasty, the motif became immensely popular and was thought to suggest fertility and abundance, and was found on objects in a variety of mediums including silver, bronze, textile and jade, and at ceramic kilns including Yaozhou and Ding.