Decorated with a scene of silk cultivation.
Kangxi period, ca: late 17th century
Diameter: 14 ½ inches (36.8 cm)
Ex: Private American Collection
In 1696, The Kangxi Emperor commissioned a book of woodblock prints (based upon an earlier Northern Song dynasty work) titled Yuzhi Gengzhi Tu or By Imperial Command: Pictures of Plowing and Weaving that illustrated the stages of agricultural work and sericulture.The Emperor authored and introduction to this book expressing his desire that everyone in the Court in the Kingdom should recognize that all food and cloth were the result of hard work.Prints from this book became a source for decoration on porcelain, though very few have survived.
Examples include a vase in the Taft Museum, Cincinnati, another in the Shanghai Museum, and others in important private collections.
