Dish thumbnail 1
Dish thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 136, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Dish

ca. 1700 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This dish is one of four with similar decoration. They all feature painted figures from the popular Chinese novel 'Water Margin', a story about brave and well-intentioned bandits who take from the rich to give to the poor.

A distinct feature of the decoration is the absence of any complementary pattern in the background, as if the figures appear on a blank stage without a backdrop. A mark on the base reads 'Studio to examine one's mind'. This indicates that the dishes were specially commissioned by a man of letters.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Porcelain painted in enamel colours
Brief description
Cer, China, Qing, f.verte
Physical description
Painted with 3 men, the man on the left wearing green trousers.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 21cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
Underglaze blue mark 'wen xin zhai' 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.
Subject depicted
Summary
This dish is one of four with similar decoration. They all feature painted figures from the popular Chinese novel 'Water Margin', a story about brave and well-intentioned bandits who take from the rich to give to the poor.

A distinct feature of the decoration is the absence of any complementary pattern in the background, as if the figures appear on a blank stage without a backdrop. A mark on the base reads 'Studio to examine one's mind'. This indicates that the dishes were specially commissioned by a man of letters.
Collection
Accession number
C.1198-1910

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Record createdSeptember 16, 2005
Record URL
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