Details
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE SWISS COLLECTION PREDOMINANTLY ACQUIRED IN FRANCE IN THE 1980s AND THE 1990s

TWO PAIRS OF FAMILLE ROSE 'ROMANCE OF THE WESTERN CHAMBER' DISHES
YONGZHENG PERIOD (1723-1735) AND QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
The first pair is decorated with a scene from 'The Romance of the Western Chamber', Xi Xiang Ji, in which Cui Yingying and her attendant wait by a pavilion in a walled garden for the arrival of Zhang Sheng who can be seen climbing the wall. The second pair is similarly decorated with Cui Yingying waiting for Zhang Sheng who has thrown his boots over the wall before climbing.
9 1/8 in (23.2 cm.) diameter

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Lot Essay

The scenes depicted here reference the woodblock prints used to illustrate the text from the famous Yuan dynasty play from the 13th-14th century, Xi Xiang Ji or 'The Romance of The Western Chamber'. The woodblock prints inspired Chinese porcelain painters for generations and the story tells the tale of the romance between the impoverished scholar Zheng Sheng and the beautiful Cui Yingying. Her mother refuses to allow her daughter to marry him and she sends the scholar away to seek scholarly success. Zheng Sheng later helps rescue Yingying from a group of bandits but although her mother had offered her daughter's hand in marriage to anyone who rescues her, she reneges on her promise. In the end, the couple marry. The scenes depicted here show the couple's clandestine meetings.

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