Beaker
LL 6487
Information
Beaker, one of a pair (to LL6488), in square form with bulbous stems, flaring mouths, and slightly spreading bases. Painted in blue of fine quality. On the bulbs are four scenes from the play 'The Romance of the Western Chamber'; on the necks, groups of the season flowers - lotus, peony, prunus, and chrysanthemum; and on the stems, other growing flowers and rocks. Dentate borders down the edges, and borders of swastika fret on the mouths and bases. The bases are embellished with erotic scenes.
Erotic scenes are rare in Chinese art, and mainly known from 'pillow books', containing series of illustrations of sexual positions, said to have been used as manuals for the young and newly-wed. On porcelain openly erotic scenes are even rarer.