Details

Object type

plate

Place Associated

China, Jingdezhen (place of manufacture)

Date

Qing Dynasty, Kangxi period, 1662-1722

Materials

Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration

Dimensions

overall: 32 mm x 209 mm x 209 mm 300 g

Description

This plate depicts an episode from a Chinese play 'The Romance of the Western Chamber' written by Wang Shifu (about 1250-1300). This scene shows Yingying reading a letter sent by Zhang Sheng via his page after his success in the government examinations when he achieves first place. The bundle at their feet are the gifts to be conveyed to Scholar Zhang from Yingying: an undershirt, a waist wrap, a pair of stockings, a jasper zither, a jade hairpin, and a mottled bamboo brush – all symbolic of Yingying’s love for him. The style of decoration in underglaze blue was extremely popular in Europe.

Credit Line/Donor

Gifted by Sir William and Lady Burrell to the City of Glasgow, 1944

Collection

Burrell Collection: Chinese Pottery [Stoneware, Porcelain]

ID Number

38.1207

Location

Burrell Collection