SHUNZHI PERIOD (1644-1661)

Shunzhi-period porcelains were often decorated in underglaze blue, while wucai wares are a lot rarer. The scene on the current vase depicts King Wen of the Zhou dynasty approaching the wise man Jiang Taigong, who was fishing by the Wei River; the king in attempt to enlist Jiang to become his chief advisor to help govern his realm.

Compare to a Chongzhen wucai jar, decorated with the same theme, in the Butler Collection and exhibited in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Seventeenth Century Jingdezhen Porcelain from the Shanghai Museum and the Butler Collections, London, 2006, no. 26.