This slightly waisted brush pot – being one centimetre wider at the glazed rim than at the base – is decorated in a vibrant under glaze blue. The glaze on the outside is more shiny and smooth than that on the inside - suggesting the application of two different glazes. There is a shallow groove to the foot rim of the pot and the glazed base has an apocryphal six-character Chenghua mark.
The scene is thought to be as that described in Part I/Act II of “The Romance of the Western Chamber” – referred to as “The Renting of the Quarters in the Monastery”. Height 13 cm.
Repair by rim.
The Avalon Collection.
This collection, which in the main focuses on the Interregnum and Kangxi periods has been both carefully and sensitively formed over the last twenty-five years. The collector, a member of the English Oriental Ceramic Society, has assembled the collection with an eye for provenance whilst purchasing from old European collections, well-established antique dealers and at auction.
Academically, the pieces have been well researched both in terms of their symbolism and narrative themes. In many instances the imagery on the pieces has been referenced to episodes in the romantic and historic novels of Chinese mythology, which were used extensively in the decoration of seventeenth century Chinese porcelain.
Wang Shifu; The Romance of the Western Chamber.
“The Renting of the Quarters in the Monastery”. Here the description is of the initial meeting between Fa Pen – the Elder of the P’uchiu Buddhist Monastery in Putting – and the scholar Chang. The Elder agrees to rent Chang a room in the west wing of the monastery so that he may prepare for the imperial examinations. Within the text the welcoming words of Fa Pen to Chang are translated as “Please come and take a seat inside the hall, sir. Last night I was not at home, so I failed to welcome you”.
‘The Romance of the Western Chamber” also translated as “The Story of the Western Wing”, is one of the most famous Chinese dramatic works. It was written by the Yuan Dynasty playwright Wang Shifu and is set during the Tang dynasty. As China’s most loved comedy – it tells the story of a young couple consummating their love without parental approval.