A large blue and white ‘Romance of the Western Chamber’ charger.
Kangxi/Yongzheng, 18th century.
The charger on a footrim, with spreading sides, decorated in blue and white underglaze enamels, the centre with a scene from The Romance of the Western Chamber, the sides decorated with a diaper pattern and four reserved cartouches with floral decor, around the rim a border with flower sprays.
The Romance of the Western Chamber (Xixiang Ji) is one of the most legendary Chinese dramatic works, this dish depicts leading character Zhang, behind a wall in his room, playing the zither for Yingying, who Hongniang has taken outside. This act, ‘Listening to the Qin’ is set at night, as we can see from the small moon above the clouds.
Provenance:
Formerly in a private collection in Groningen, The Netherlands
Diameter: 35 cm.
Inv. No: A00123-1
