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Bowl

Photo: Paul Macapia

Bowl

ca.1700

Poor scholar Zhang Sheng falls deeply in love with the daughter of a chief minister, Cui Yingying, in The West Chamber, a 14th-century romantic comedy by playwright Wang Shifu. She smiles at him from behind a high monastery wall here. Only the moon and constellations above witness their first, clandestine meeting. Their story ends happily—they survive bandit attacks and her mother’s disapproval given their different stations in life—but the tale was sometimes forbidden because its storyline included love outside of marriage.
Porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration
3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm), height
8 1/4 in. (21 cm), diameter
Gift of Mrs. John C. Atwood, Jr.
70.42
Photo: Paul Macapia
location
Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Porcelain Stories: From China to Europe, Feb. 17 - May 7, 2000.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Glaze, Pattern and Image: Decoration in Chinese Ceramics. Sept. 7 - Nov. 19, 2002.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Chinese Ceramics and Snuff Bottles from the Ming and Xing Dynasties, Jan. 14 - Apr. 2, 2006.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Conceal/Reveal, Dec. 20, 2014 - June 21, 2015.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view beginning July 23, 2022].
Published ReferencesEmerson, Julie, Jennifer Chen, & Mimi Gardner Gates, "Porcelain Stories, From China to Europe", Seattle Art Museum, 2000, pg. 118

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