Thinly potted Kangxi 1662-1722 Chinese Porcelain Bowl SCHOLAR ZHANG JOURNEY

Out of stock

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Condition Report: Overall Condition 1 line, some minimal frits. Size 158x71mm DiameterXHeight

Sharing with you this lovely and high quality kangxi period bowl, chenghua marked at the base.

The bowl is very thinly potted, you can see through the porcelain when hold in the light.

It is decorated to the exterior with the famous story of the scholar Zhang embarking on his journey to sit for civil-service examinations. Young scholar Zhang Junrui (张君瑞, also called Zhang Sheng 张生) is the male protagonist in the famous ancient Chinese play, Romance of the Western Chamber (西厢记 Xixiang ji, alternative translation is The Story of the Western Wing). He was commonly referred to as Scholar Zhang. The son of a cabinet minister of the court, he suffered the tragedy of losing both parents. This left him with only his sword and his books for solace and entertainment. Thus, he decided to sit for civil-service examinations. In Episode 2 of the play, he set off on horseback to the capital with his pageboy. The scene (in fig. 9 & 11) depicts the moment when they approached the district of Pudong on the west bank of the Yellow River, in the territory of the Hezhong Prefecture (张生至蒲东).

The interior is decorated with boys at play within two circles, and the rim is decorated with geometric design.

KANGXI
Kangxi blue and white porcelain was produced in China during the reign of the Emperor Kangxi. The fourth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the longest-reigning emperor in Chinese history, he ruled China from 1662 to 1722.

The finest examples of Kangxi blue and white porcelain rival any other Chinese blue and white porcelain produced during earlier periods. Kangxi blue and white porcelain may not have the simple vigour of Yongle porcelain (1403-1424) or the stateliness of Chenghua blue and white porcelain (1465-1487) but it features charming and sophisticated designs, inspired by all the periods that went before. These designs are combined with great technical expertise to produce porcelain with a brilliant under-glaze sapphire blue for the painting and a fine white slightly bluish silky glaze applied to a very white body.

Designs were sometimes based on Buddhist and Daoist themes but were more often sourced from illustrated books including Ming stories such as The Three Kingdoms and The Romance of the West Chamber or popular dramas such as Xixiang Ji and Wui Hu Zhuan. Kangxi blue and white porcelain was increasingly varied and innovative in terms of structural design, and Dutch and other European shapes were also used, inspired by important makers of Dutch Delft from the 17th century such as Lambert van Eenhoorn or Adrian Kocks.

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