A CHINESE LONGQUAN CELADON-GLAZED 'SCHOLARS AND POETS' BOWL. Ming Dynasty. Moulded to the centre with the important historical figures Li Bai reading a scroll, Zhen Zi and Feng Qin, Confucius seated in a dignified expression and the Tang beauty Zhao Jun seated before a screen, each beside an inscription, all beneath with a key fret band to the rim, the exterior incised with a floral band, 14cm diameter. 明 龍泉青釉印模士大夫詩人像盌 The present bowl is an exceptional for the quality and crispness of the impressed decoration. Another example of the same scene with of inferior quality is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston accession number 93.1459. For further examples of this type see Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, 2001, nos 16:52 and 16:53.

(14cm diameter.)