Ref: U728
Archive item - not for sale
Chinese wucai Gu vase, Shunzhi (circa 1650-1660), the upper register depicts Emperor Yao and his attendants meeting the ox herder and recluse Xu You, all within a river landscape with trees, rockwork and scudding clouds above, the middle register with panels of peony and butterflies or chrysanthemums divided by ruyi, the lower register similarly decorated with a continuous panel of peony, lotus and chrysanthemums; height: 14 5/8 in. (37.5cm.). Xu You was a noble scholar and former minister living as a virtuous recluse who did not aspire to fame and fortune. He considered moral principles more important than personal gain, and eventually became Emperor Yao's (c. 2356-2255 BC) teacher. A well known story was Yao’s visit to Xu You, Yao offered to abdicate the throne in preference to the virtuous Xu You. Xu You, however, promptly declined the offer, and washed his ears in the river. The story was popular for its depiction of Emperor Yao’s generosity and humility, and Xu You for his virtue, all mores of Confucianism. A vase with the same subject matter from the Butler Family Collection, is illustrated by Curtis, J.B. in ‘Chinese Porcelains of the Seventeenth Century, Landscapes, Scholars' Motifs and Narratives’, no.60, pp.142-3. SOLD
