A blue and white ‘warrior and maiden’ brushpot, Transitional period 明末清初 青花將軍仕女圖筆筒

Collection of Sir Harry (1891-1977) and Lady Garner, London.
Sotheby’s London, 17th December 1974, lot 194.

來源：
加納爵士（1891-1977年）伉儷收藏，倫敦
倫敦蘇富比1974年12月17日，編號194

Sir Harry Garner, Oriental Blue and White, London, 1973, fig. 60A.

出版：
加納爵士，《Oriental Blue and White》，倫敦，1973年，圖60A

Catalogue of Loan Exhibition of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain. 14th to 19th Centuries, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1954, cat. no. 223 (unillustrated).
Transitional Wares and Their Forerunners, Oriental Ceramics Society, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1981, cat. no. 82.

展覽：
《Catalogue of Loan Exhibition of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain. 14th to 19th Centuries》，東方陶瓷學會，倫敦，1954年，編號223（沒載圖）
《明末清初瓷展》，香港東方陶瓷學會，香港藝術館，香港，1981年，編號82

The present brushpot appears to be depicting the story of Wang Baochuan 王寶釧 and Xue Pinggui 薛平貴, a Chinese Romeo-and-Juliet love story that supposedly takes place during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang around the 9th century. 

The heroine of the story, Wang Baochuan, was born into a life of privilege; she came from an aristocratic family, with her father being the Prime Minister and her two older sisters married off to noble ministers. The young and beautiful Wang met a commoner, Xue Pinggui, by chance and was instantly struck by his intelligence and ambition. Against her family's opposition and threat of estrangement, she married Xue, determined to make a life of her own choosing and moved into Xue’s home in a desolate cave, Hanyao 寒窯. Despite their courage and determination, the newly-wed couple still couldn’t escape the cruel fate that awaited them; Xue was sent on a military expedition shortly after the marriage, leaving Wang behind, struggling against poverty, hunger and loneliness.

There are several variations of the ending, but generally it seems the happily-ever-after version was favoured, as seen on the present brushpot, where Xue returned triumphantly and finally reunited with Wang after eighteen bitter cold winters. The legend eventually became a popular subject matter in Chinese opera and from time to time appeared on Ming porcelain wares, commending women of valour for their unwavering loyalty and devotion to their loved ones.