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Editor: The Peony Pavilion is a famous play written by Tang Xianzu in Ming Dynasty. There are very few figural paintings depicting this play on Kangxi famille verte porcelain. Dr <a style="color: #0000ff;" href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/about-us/dr-yibin-ni/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yibin Ni</a> first identified the figures and the scene on a porcelain dish in the V&amp;A Museum at the turn of the millennium, and now is discussing a couple of incorrect details in the description of the scene in their online catalogue.
featured image above: porcelain dish with overglaze enamelled decoration (detail), Kangxi period (1662-1722), courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
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‘True love conquers all’ is the theme of the <a href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/motifs-symbols/peony/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peony </a>Pavilion (牡丹亭 Mudan Ting), a musical play of fifty-five scenes written by Tang Xianzu (汤显祖, 1550-1616), a contemporary of William Shakespeare (1564-1616). Also known as The Romance of Return of Soul (还魂记 Huanhun Ji), the play contains a supernatural love story between Du Liniang (杜丽娘), the only daughter of the Nan’an prefect (南安太守) Mr. Du, and Liu Mengmei (柳梦梅), a civil-service examination candidate. At the beginning of the play, there was a passionate rendezvous of the two in the form of <a href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/figures-stories/a-startled-romantic-dream-in-the-back-garden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liniang’s dream in the back garden</a> with vigorously budding bushes during a warm spring afternoon. The encounter was so indelible to the adolescent girl that she eventually died of longing for her ‘dream’ lover. The play narrates how the couple overcome all the obstacles along the way to their union. Their experiences transcend not only time and space but also life and death.
<figure id="attachment_8278" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8278" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-8278 size-full" src="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-Kangxi-porcelain-VnA-Museum.jpg" alt="dream in the Peony Pavilion Kangxi porcelain dish" width="800" height="795" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-Kangxi-porcelain-VnA-Museum.jpg?v=1626956963 800w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-Kangxi-porcelain-VnA-Museum-300x298.jpg?v=1626956963 300w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-Kangxi-porcelain-VnA-Museum-150x150.jpg?v=1626956963 150w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-Kangxi-porcelain-VnA-Museum-768x763.jpg?v=1626956963 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8278" class="wp-caption-text">porcelain dish with overglaze enamelled decoration, Kangxi period (1662-1722), courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London</figcaption></figure>
The <a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Victoria and Albert Museum</a>, London, has a Kangxi famille verte plate in the collection, one of the only two known extant Kangxi famille verte plates with scenes from The Peony Pavilion in the world. The other, bearing the scene of Act 26, Admiring the Portrait, is in the collection of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, Sweden. The two may well have belonged to the same set since their colour palette and diameters are very close.
<figure id="attachment_8280" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8280" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-8280 size-full" src="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-Liu-Mengmei-painting-Tutuhaoyi.jpg" alt="man looking at painting of a girl Peony Pavilion Kangxi porcelain dish" width="800" height="792" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-Liu-Mengmei-painting-Tutuhaoyi.jpg?v=1626957471 800w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-Liu-Mengmei-painting-Tutuhaoyi-300x297.jpg?v=1626957471 300w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-Liu-Mengmei-painting-Tutuhaoyi-150x150.jpg?v=1626957471 150w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-Liu-Mengmei-painting-Tutuhaoyi-768x760.jpg?v=1626957471 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8280" class="wp-caption-text">porcelain dish with overglaze enamelled decoration, Kangxi period (1662-1722), courtesy of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, Sweden</figcaption></figure>
In a photographed page probably from an old catalogue in the V&amp;A&#8217;s object database, the scene on the V&amp;A plate is merely labelled as ‘porcelain painted in famille verte enamels’. In the Chinese version ‘Qing Dynasty Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum (英国维多利亚和阿尔伯特国立博物院藏中国清代瓷器)’ (1997), originally published as a V&amp;A publication, this plate is described as ‘康熙五彩人物图盘’, literally, ‘Kangxi five-colour figure painting plate’, albeit indicating a theatrical setting but with no identification of the specific story scene.
<figure id="attachment_8289" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8289" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-8289 size-large" src="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Victoria-and-Albert-Museum-catalogue-768x1024.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="853" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Victoria-and-Albert-Museum-catalogue-768x1023.jpg?v=1626967585 768w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Victoria-and-Albert-Museum-catalogue-225x300.jpg?v=1626967585 225w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Victoria-and-Albert-Museum-catalogue.jpg?v=1626967585 800w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8289" class="wp-caption-text">V&amp;A museum catalogue picture published on https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O116736/dish-unknown/, accessed on 21 July, 2021</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_8281" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8281" style="width: 1118px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-8281 size-full" src="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/牡丹亭康熙瓷盘-图图好意.jpg" alt="" width="1118" height="675" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/牡丹亭康熙瓷盘-图图好意.jpg?v=1626957923 1118w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/牡丹亭康熙瓷盘-图图好意-300x181.jpg?v=1626957923 300w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/牡丹亭康熙瓷盘-图图好意-1024x618.jpg?v=1626957923 1024w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/牡丹亭康熙瓷盘-图图好意-768x464.jpg?v=1626957923 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1118px) 100vw, 1118px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8281" class="wp-caption-text">a page from the Chinese version of Qing Dynasty Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum (1997)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_8282" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8282" style="width: 700px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-8282 size-full" src="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/维多利亚和阿尔伯特中国清代瓷器.jpg" alt="柯玫瑰英国维多利亚和阿尔伯特国立博物馆藏中国清代瓷器" width="700" height="959" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/维多利亚和阿尔伯特中国清代瓷器.jpg?v=1626957966 700w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/维多利亚和阿尔伯特中国清代瓷器-219x300.jpg?v=1626957966 219w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8282" class="wp-caption-text">screenshot from https://www.pdf-art.com/category/guwan/ciqi, accessed on 21 July, 2021</figcaption></figure>
I published my research result on this plate in an article in the March issue of the Chinese journal Art World (《艺术世界》) in 2004 and then an expanded version was included as a chapter in my book Kan Tu Shuo Ci (《看图说瓷》, Interpreting Narrative Scenes on Traditional Chinese Decorative Arts, 2008, Beijing). I identified the scene on this plate as that of ‘A Startled Dream While Visiting the Family Garden’, Act 5 of the play ‘The Peony Pavilion’.
<figure id="attachment_8304" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8304" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-8304 size-large" src="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/看图说瓷-倪亦斌-书封面-1-715x1024.jpg" alt="Ni Yibin's book Kan Tu Shuo Ci《看图说瓷》" width="640" height="917" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/看图说瓷-倪亦斌-书封面-1-715x1024.jpg?v=1627234371 715w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/看图说瓷-倪亦斌-书封面-1-210x300.jpg?v=1627234371 210w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/看图说瓷-倪亦斌-书封面-1-768x1099.jpg?v=1627234371 768w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/看图说瓷-倪亦斌-书封面-1-1073x1536.jpg?v=1627234371 1073w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/看图说瓷-倪亦斌-书封面-1.jpg?v=1627234371 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8304" class="wp-caption-text">Ni Yibin, Kan Tu Shuo Ci《看图说瓷》, Beijing, Zhonghua Shu Ju, 2008</figcaption></figure>
In the current V&amp;A online catalogue, there is a paragraph explaining the content of the scene on the plate and this is a progress on the part of the V&amp;A museum compared with a few words given to the plate in the previous archived data sheet or publication.
<figure id="attachment_8285" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8285" style="width: 1590px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-8285 size-full" src="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-porcelain-description.jpg" alt="" width="1590" height="576" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-porcelain-description.jpg?v=1626958475 1590w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-porcelain-description-300x109.jpg?v=1626958475 300w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-porcelain-description-1024x371.jpg?v=1626958475 1024w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-porcelain-description-768x278.jpg?v=1626958475 768w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-porcelain-description-1536x556.jpg?v=1626958475 1536w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Peony-Pavilion-porcelain-description-1568x568.jpg?v=1626958475 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1590px) 100vw, 1590px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8285" class="wp-caption-text">screenshot from https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O116736/dish-unknown/, accessed on 21 July, 2021</figcaption></figure>
However, in this paragraph, the plate is said to be “painted with a scene from the popular Chinese novel ‘Peony Pavilion’”. As, 1616: Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu’s China, the title of a book published in 2016 shows, the creator of the Peony Pavilion is definitely a playwright. If Tang were to have been a novelist, he would have been compared to Charles Dickens, instead of William Shakespeare.
<figure id="attachment_8290" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8290" style="width: 420px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-8290 size-full" src="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/1616-Shakespeare-and-Tang-Xianzus-China.jpg" alt="" width="420" height="645" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/1616-Shakespeare-and-Tang-Xianzus-China.jpg?v=1626968250 420w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/1616-Shakespeare-and-Tang-Xianzus-China-195x300.jpg?v=1626968250 195w" sizes="(max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8290" class="wp-caption-text">Tian Yuan Tan, Paul Edmondson and Shih-Pe Wang (eds), 1616: Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu’s China, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016</figcaption></figure>
Furthermore, the online catalogue paragraph contains the statement that ‘The deity standing on a cluster of clouds is the God of Dreams’. This is inconsistent with the content of the original play. In fact, there is not such a role as ‘the God of Dreams’ in the text of Act 5 of the play. Instead, there is a Flower Spirit, who protects and sends blessing to the romance between Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei. His image appears in a Ming-dynasty woodblock printed illustration of Act 23 of the play, The Nether Judge (冥判).
<figure id="attachment_8286" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8286" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-8286 size-large" src="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/woodblock-print-dream-garden-Tutuhaoyi-675x1024.jpg" alt="牡丹亭游园惊梦木版画" width="640" height="971" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/woodblock-print-dream-garden-Tutuhaoyi-675x1024.jpg?v=1626958611 675w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/woodblock-print-dream-garden-Tutuhaoyi-198x300.jpg?v=1626958611 198w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/woodblock-print-dream-garden-Tutuhaoyi.jpg?v=1626958611 700w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8286" class="wp-caption-text">woodblock printed illustration, Scene 5, A Startled Dream While Visiting the Family Garden in the Story of the Return of the Soul, printed in the Kangxi period (1662-1722)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_8287" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8287" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-8287 size-large" src="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/牡丹亭冥判-木版画-662x1024.jpg" alt="牡丹亭 后花园花神 冥判" width="640" height="990" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/牡丹亭冥判-木版画-662x1024.jpg?v=1626958653 662w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/牡丹亭冥判-木版画-194x300.jpg?v=1626958653 194w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/牡丹亭冥判-木版画.jpg?v=1626958653 700w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8287" class="wp-caption-text">woodblock printed illustration, Scene 23, The Nether Judge, in the Story of the Return of the Soul, printed in the Tianqi period (1620-27)</figcaption></figure>
In that act, the Flower Spirit of Mr Du’s Back Garden (后花园花神) was summoned in front of the Judge of the underworld to testify and the spirit is pictorially characterised as a handsome prince-like figure flying on a piece of cloud. And so is he hovering in mid-air in the scene on the V&amp;A plate.
<figure id="attachment_8288" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8288" style="width: 1029px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-8288 size-full" src="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Flower-Spirit-Peony-Pavilion-Tutuhaoyi.jpg" alt="" width="1029" height="644" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Flower-Spirit-Peony-Pavilion-Tutuhaoyi.jpg?v=1626958868 1029w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Flower-Spirit-Peony-Pavilion-Tutuhaoyi-300x188.jpg?v=1626958868 300w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Flower-Spirit-Peony-Pavilion-Tutuhaoyi-1024x641.jpg?v=1626958868 1024w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Flower-Spirit-Peony-Pavilion-Tutuhaoyi-768x481.jpg?v=1626958868 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1029px) 100vw, 1029px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8288" class="wp-caption-text">Left: woodblock print (detail), Scene 23, The Nether Judge, in the Story of the Return of the Soul, printed in the Tianqi period (1620-27); Right: porcelain dish (detail), Kangxi period (1662-1722), courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London</figcaption></figure>
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References:
<ol>
<li>倪亦斌:《明末时尚女子的情色告白》,《艺术世界》, 上海: 上海文艺出版社, 2004 &#8211; 03, pp.72-73.</li>
<li>倪亦斌:《明末时尚女子的情色告白》,《看图说瓷》, 北京: 中华书局, 2008, pp.1-10.</li>
</ol>
*The book Kan Tu Shuo Ci 《看图说瓷》 is also available for loan at the Princeton University library (checked on 21 July 2021).
<figure id="attachment_8292" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8292" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-8292 size-large" src="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Princeton-University-library-Kan-Tu-Shuo-Ci-1024x736.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="460" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Princeton-University-library-Kan-Tu-Shuo-Ci-1024x736.jpg?v=1626970520 1024w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Princeton-University-library-Kan-Tu-Shuo-Ci-300x216.jpg?v=1626970520 300w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Princeton-University-library-Kan-Tu-Shuo-Ci-768x552.jpg?v=1626970520 768w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2021/07/Princeton-University-library-Kan-Tu-Shuo-Ci.jpg?v=1626970520 1357w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8292" class="wp-caption-text">screenshot from Princeton University library, accessed on 21 July, 2021</figcaption></figure>
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Who is the figure on the cloud in the dream scene of the Peony Pavilion?

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How were female figures depicted on Chinese antiques, especially on porcelain and wood-block carving? Dr <a href="https://tutuhaoyi.com/about-us/dr-yibin-ni/">Yibin Ni</a> will give a lecture on this topic using pictures on antiques from Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Venue and time: Shanghai Library on 20 April 2019.
<figure id="attachment_10199" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-10199" style="width: 986px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-10199 size-full" src="http://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2019/05/Tutuhaoyi-lecture-Ni-Yibin-Ming-Qing-porcelain-1.jpg" alt="Tutuhaoyi lecture Ni Yibin Ming Qing porcelain" width="986" height="1316" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2019/05/Tutuhaoyi-lecture-Ni-Yibin-Ming-Qing-porcelain-1.jpg?v=1665332081 986w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2019/05/Tutuhaoyi-lecture-Ni-Yibin-Ming-Qing-porcelain-1-225x300.jpg?v=1665332081 225w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2019/05/Tutuhaoyi-lecture-Ni-Yibin-Ming-Qing-porcelain-1-767x1024.jpg?v=1665332081 767w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2019/05/Tutuhaoyi-lecture-Ni-Yibin-Ming-Qing-porcelain-1-768x1025.jpg?v=1665332081 768w" sizes="(max-width: 986px) 100vw, 986px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-10199" class="wp-caption-text">Dr Yibin Ni at Shanghai Library, China</figcaption></figure>
Dr Yibin Ni will explain figures and stories painted on porcelain and wood-block carving, and discuss the way that female figures were gazed at in the male dominant society in ancient times. Lots of beautiful and interesting images from antique porcelains and wood- block carving in Ming and Qing dynasties will be illustrated, and cognition of gender and races related to gazing will be further discussed.
<figure id="attachment_10200" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-10200" style="width: 1400px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-10200 size-full" src="http://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2019/05/gaze-porcelain-Yibin-Ni-lecture-Tutuhaoyi-1.jpg" alt="gaze porcelain Yibin Ni lecture Tutuhaoyi" width="1400" height="1050" srcset="https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2019/05/gaze-porcelain-Yibin-Ni-lecture-Tutuhaoyi-1.jpg?v=1665332267 1400w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2019/05/gaze-porcelain-Yibin-Ni-lecture-Tutuhaoyi-1-300x225.jpg?v=1665332267 300w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2019/05/gaze-porcelain-Yibin-Ni-lecture-Tutuhaoyi-1-1024x768.jpg?v=1665332267 1024w, https://adminrm18.tutuhaoyi.com/tutuheadless/public/uploads/2019/05/gaze-porcelain-Yibin-Ni-lecture-Tutuhaoyi-1-768x576.jpg?v=1665332267 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-10200" class="wp-caption-text">porcelain dish, Kangxi period (1662-1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum, London </figcaption></figure>
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*Featured image:
porcelain bowl (detail) with underglaze blue decoration, Shunzhi period (1644-61), courtesy of the Sir Michael Butler Collection