Dish with Landscape and Inscription (1662–1722): Art, History and Details

Dish with Landscape and Inscription (1662–1722) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The river scene, composed of two shores divided by waterafter the Yuan dynasty master Ni Zan is inscribed: What shall I present the gentleman with? A picture of the Xiang River. A tributary of the Yangzi in Hunan province, the Xiang River is associated with Chinese literature and history, such as the Xiang goddesses, loyal consorts of emperor Shun. They are mentioned in the ancient Songs of the South (Chuci), known for staining the bamboo along the Xiang River with their tears when they thought him lost in the floods. The dish may have been a gift between two departing friends or for a couple.

Object facts

• Title: Dish with Landscape and Inscription
• Date: 1662–1722
• Culture: China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Kangxi period (1662-1722)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: porcelain, underglaze cobalt-blue decoration
• Dimensions: Overall: 12.3 cm (4 13/16 in.)
• Collection: China - Qing Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 2019.176

A detail from the museum

There is an apocryphal inscription on the bottom of the dish.

Collection credit

The A. W. Ellenberger, Sr., Endowment Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Christie's Amsterdam. Chinese and Japanese Ceramics and Works of Art. 4 November 2003.
• Griswold, William, Xiaofei Tian, Richard Von Glahn, Feng Zhao, S. J. Vainker, Masaaki Itakura, Jiang Wu, et al. China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. Edited by Clarissa Von Spee. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.