Monumental Bowl

The scene that wraps around this large and thickly potted Bowl reflects a taste for illustrations from popular novels, and such images on blue-and-white porcelain are typical of the period from the end of the Ming to the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. The spirited battle probably represents a scene from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which recounts events from tho civil wars of the third century A.D. Tales of ancient heroes were widely popular as sources for plays, storytelling, and—as we see here—the decoration of ceramics and other objects in daily use.