KANGXI PERIOD (1662-1722)

The scene depicted on the present vase illustrates the "Four Arts" of qin, qi, shu, hua, celebrated in Chinese literati culture. These include playing the qin (zither), mastering the strategy of qi (chess), practicing shu (calligraphy), and creating hua (paintings). Mastery of these arts was regarded as a reflection of one’s intellectual refinement and scholarly pursuits. It is very rare to find this motif rendered on porcelain. A comparable example was formerly in the Tsui Museum of Art and is illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art: Chinese Ceramics IV, Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, no. 93.