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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 145

Plate

Plate
1685-95 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This plate is decorated with a scene taken from the popular novel 'The West Chamber'. The hero of the story, a young man called Zhang, plays the lute, in the hope that he could win the heart of a noble woman, Yingying.

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Object details

Categories
Object type
TitlePlate (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Porcelain painted in underglaze blue
Brief description
Plate, porcelain painted in underglaze blue, with a scene from the drama "The West Chamber" (Xi Xiang Ji), China, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722)
Physical description
Porcelain plate painted in underglaze blue, on the inside a night scene with two girls in a garden listening to a scholar playing lute indoor, from the drama "The West Chamber" (Xi Xiang Ji): Zhang Sheng plays his lute by night. Yingying and Hongniang listen (Part II, Act IV). On the rim a border of diaperwork with five reserved panels, each containing an emblem. On the outside repeated landscape scenes.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 26.4cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
'da ming Chenghua nian zhi' in a double circle, in underglaze blue
Translation
Made in the Chenghua period of the great Ming dynasty
Gallery label
Chinese plate with 'The Romance of the Western Chamber' China, Jingdezhen, 1685-95 C.754-1910. Salting Bequest(2009)
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.
The scene is from the drama "The West Chamber" (Xi Xiang Ji): Zhang Sheng plays his lute by night. Yingying and Hongniang listen (Part II, Act IV).
Subjects depicted
Literary referenceThe West Chamber
Summary
This plate is decorated with a scene taken from the popular novel 'The West Chamber'. The hero of the story, a young man called Zhang, plays the lute, in the hope that he could win the heart of a noble woman, Yingying.
Other number
Loan no. 2031
Collection
Accession number
C.754-1910

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Record createdDecember 17, 2008
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