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Lot Essay
The present bottle probably depicts the story of Mu Guiying, one of the female generals of the Yang family as described in one of the most famous examples of Chinese historical romances, the Bei Song zhizhuan 'History of the Northern Song', written by Xiong Damu. This novel commemorates the wars between the Northern Song (960-1127) and her neighbours in the north, the Liao (Khitan) and Xi Xia (Tangut). Most of the stories in this novel are about the legendary acts of the members of the family of general Yang. Therefore this novel is currently also known as Yangjia jiang yanyi 'Novel about the generals from the Yang family' (source: W. Idema and L. Haft, Chinese letterkunde: een inleiding, Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2005, p. 196).
A pair of square bottle vases from the same period and with similar decoration were sold at Christie's Amsterdam, 21-22 September 2010, lot 287.
A pair of similar bottles with a similar story can be found in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, see C.J.A. Jörg and J. van Campen, Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, London, 1997, pp. 91-92.
A pair of square bottle vases from the same period and with similar decoration were sold at Christie's Amsterdam, 21-22 September 2010, lot 287.
A pair of similar bottles with a similar story can be found in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, see C.J.A. Jörg and J. van Campen, Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, London, 1997, pp. 91-92.