Period:Ming dynasty Production date:1597 (dated)
Materials:stoneware
Technique:slipped, marbled, incised,
Subjects:deity
Dimensions:Height: 17.50 centimetres
Description:
Cizhou-type stoneware figure of Wen Chang, slipped, and with marbled panels. This Cizhou-type stoneware figure represents Wen Chang, the popular god of the literati and literature, seated on a rock. He is typically depicted as a civil official, with an official’s hat, dressed in a long robe with sleeves which cover his left hand. His right hand holds the central section of his belt which is fastened above his midriff. The front and back of the robe are further ornamented with a square marbled plaque suggestive of a rank badge. The back of the rock is inscribed with eight archaic characters incised in two parallel vertical lines, which read: ‘Wanli dingyou Chen Wencheng su’ [Modelled by Chen Wencheng in the dingyou year of the Wanli era (AD 1597)].
IMG
![图片[1]-figure BM-1936-1012.284-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Ming dynasty/Ceramics/mid_00355383_001.jpg)
![图片[2]-figure BM-1936-1012.284-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Ming dynasty/Ceramics/mid_00255519_001.jpg)
Comments:Harrison-Hall 2001:Wen Chang was widely worshipped by the literati for success in the civil service examinations. Success at these examinations would bring a passport to power, status, security and a large income. Officials were appointed salaries but could increase their incomes through a proportion of local tax. Wen Chang is often depicted holding his belt in this way. An ivory carving of the same seated figure but with a beard is in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm. Such figures were made in a variety of media – ivory, ceramic, bronze and lacquered wood. Wen Chang is also venerated for his powers of healing and exorcising. A hanging scroll ink-painting, dated 1596, by Ding Yunpeng (active c. 1584-1638) of Wen Chang in the British Museum depicts the popular deity in a similar fashion. As yet, the maker Chen Wencheng’s biographical details have not been established. An identical figure with the same inscription is in Schloss Ambras near Innsbruck, Austria, a collection established by the Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria (1529-95).
Materials:stoneware
Technique:slipped, marbled, incised,
Subjects:deity
Dimensions:Height: 17.50 centimetres
Description:
Cizhou-type stoneware figure of Wen Chang, slipped, and with marbled panels. This Cizhou-type stoneware figure represents Wen Chang, the popular god of the literati and literature, seated on a rock. He is typically depicted as a civil official, with an official’s hat, dressed in a long robe with sleeves which cover his left hand. His right hand holds the central section of his belt which is fastened above his midriff. The front and back of the robe are further ornamented with a square marbled plaque suggestive of a rank badge. The back of the rock is inscribed with eight archaic characters incised in two parallel vertical lines, which read: ‘Wanli dingyou Chen Wencheng su’ [Modelled by Chen Wencheng in the dingyou year of the Wanli era (AD 1597)].
IMG
Comments:Harrison-Hall 2001:Wen Chang was widely worshipped by the literati for success in the civil service examinations. Success at these examinations would bring a passport to power, status, security and a large income. Officials were appointed salaries but could increase their incomes through a proportion of local tax. Wen Chang is often depicted holding his belt in this way. An ivory carving of the same seated figure but with a beard is in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm. Such figures were made in a variety of media – ivory, ceramic, bronze and lacquered wood. Wen Chang is also venerated for his powers of healing and exorcising. A hanging scroll ink-painting, dated 1596, by Ding Yunpeng (active c. 1584-1638) of Wen Chang in the British Museum depicts the popular deity in a similar fashion. As yet, the maker Chen Wencheng’s biographical details have not been established. An identical figure with the same inscription is in Schloss Ambras near Innsbruck, Austria, a collection established by the Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria (1529-95).
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![[Qing Dynasty] British female painter—Elizabeth Keith, using woodblock prints to record China from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China—1915-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-191x300.png)
