Bowl, anonymous, c. 1700
painting, h 9.6cm × l 19cm × w 18.7cm × d 8.2cm More details
This bowl is decorated with four episodes from the Romance of the Western Chamber (Xixiang ji). Two scenes are presented here. Zhangsheng falls ill when his proposal is turned down by Yingying’s mother. The maid Hongniang orchestrates a nocturnal meeting, whereby Zhangsheng can play his qin (zither-like instrument) and declare his love to Yingying; she fetches Yingying so that she can listen to him.
