Wine cup
Category
Ceramics
Date
1801 - 1899
Materials
porcelain, underglaze cobalt blue
Measurements
36 mm (Height); 55 mm (Diameter)
Place of origin
Jingdezhen
Order this imageCollection
Wallington, Northumberland
NT 581752
Summary
Wine cup, porcelain, finely potted, deep bowl with low footring, made in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China, c. 1800-1899; decorated in underglaze cobalt blue with the eight horses of Wang Mu in various positions, alongside a pine tree; the base with the six-character mark of the emperor Cheng Hua (A.D.1465-1487). Qing dynasty.
Full description
The eight horses of King (wang) Mu of the Zhou Dynasty was popular as decoration on porcelain beginning in the mid-seventeenth-century. The story originates from a historical romance, the Mu tianzhi zhuan (An Account of Emperor Mu), which describes the journeys of the fifth emperor of the Zhou dynasty (1023-983 BC) during which he met Xi Wangmu - the Queen Mother of the West - at Yaozhi (the Jade Pond).
Provenance
Gift from Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan 3rd Bt