Page 120 - J. P Morgan Collection of Chinese Art and Porcelain

CASE G] the morgan COLLECTION

dish in the collection. The broad band of floral bro-

cade round the border studded with lotus blossoms,

alternately white and red, has a wonderfully rich ef-

fect, broken, as it is, by foliated panels enclosing dainty
pictures of birds, butterflies and grasshoppers. The

central scene displays a Taoist divinity with a fly

—whisk in his hand and a sword slung across his back
—presumably Lii Tung-pin standing upon a bank of

clouds, preceded by one of his myrmidons carrying a

sleeping damsel on his back. On the right in an open

pavillion filled with books stands a student in official
dress, holding a lighted candle in his hand, as he gazes

on the celestial apparition. The full moon is shining

in the sky, a golden disk, beside the constellations of

the "herdsman" and the "spinning damsel," sug-

gestive of the reunion of lovers. See Mayer's Chinese
Reader's Manual, No. 311 (p. 97). In another varia-
tion of this theme, often seen in ceramic art, the stu-

dent is represented asleep in his library, with a scroll

proceeding from his head and opening out to reveal,

as in a dream, a similar vision, in which the myrmidon

is perhaps figured with the head and wings of an eagle.

Mark: A leaf of artemisia.

K'ang-hsi (1662-1722). Diameter 21 inches.

(plate lxvi)

2. LARGE PLATE. Intricate decoration of cen-

tral panel surrounded by eight reserves containing
various designs of flowers, birds, household objects,
ornaments, etc. Exterior ornament of lotus flowers

and arabesques. Diameter 24 inches.
K'ang-hsi (i 662-1 722).

3, 4. TWO PORCELAIN FIGURES, man and

woman, made for exportation to Holland, the cos-

tumes copied from European engravings.

K'ang-hsi (1622-1722). Height 15 inches.

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