Dish thumbnail 1
Dish thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 137, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Dish

1680-1722 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This dish is painted with a scene from the popular Chinese novel 'Peony Pavilion', a love story with a supernatural twist. Here the heroine dreams that she meets and falls in love with a young man. The deity standing on a cluster of clouds is the God of Dreams.

During the Kangxi period (1662-1722) woodblock printing flourished, and potters turned to illustrated books for sources of decoration. This dish is a successful example of a transfer of design from one medium to another.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Porcelain painted in enamel colours
Brief description
Dish, porcelain, painted with enamel colours in the famille verte palette, China (Jingdezhen), Qing dynasty, Kangxi period, 1680-1722
Physical description
Painted with a scene from the Chinese popular novel 'Peony Pavilion'.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 26.7cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
Musical instrument mark on base
Credit line
Salting Bequest
Object history
Bequeathed by Mr. George Salting, accessioned in 1910. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Literary referencePeony Pavilion
Summary
This dish is painted with a scene from the popular Chinese novel 'Peony Pavilion', a love story with a supernatural twist. Here the heroine dreams that she meets and falls in love with a young man. The deity standing on a cluster of clouds is the God of Dreams.

During the Kangxi period (1662-1722) woodblock printing flourished, and potters turned to illustrated books for sources of decoration. This dish is a successful example of a transfer of design from one medium to another.
Other number
Loan no. 841
Collection
Accession number
C.1174-1910

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Record createdSeptember 16, 2005
Record URL
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