Porcelain plaque with a figure crossing a bridge in a river landscape

Height with frame: 18 1/4 inches, 46.5 cm

Width with frame: 12 inches, 30.5 cm

Porcelain plaque with a figure crossing a bridge in a river landscape

People's Republic of China, dated 1926

A porcelain plaque of rectangular format, showing a river landscape in delicate famille verte enamels on a white ground. The plaque shows a figure crossing a bridge over a lake and walking from one pavilion to another. High-peaked mountains can be seen in the background. The lake itself has plenty of boating with figures being rowed. The top right has an inscription that reads: feng ri qing he ye jing you, lan guang fin shu ying qing liu (wander through wild paths in bright and breezy weather, mountains and trees are reflected on shimmering clear streams). The five characters on the left read: bing yin nian zuo yu zhu shan (painted at Zhushan in the Bingyin year (likely to be 1926). The inscription ends with an unrecognized red seal mark contained within a double gourd.

Zhushan can be regarded as a nickname for Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Plaques and other porcelains are commonly signed “Written/Painted at Zhushan” during the 20th century. During the late Qing dynasty and the Republic of China period, many porcelain painters were gathered in Jingdezhen. They formed the famous Zhu Shan Ba Ya (eight friends of Zhu shan), a group of great porcelain painters.