Object Image

Vase with King Wen Visiting the Scholar Jiang Taigong

The narratives painted on the four sides of the vase were most likely based on similar scenes in woodblock illustrations. The solitary angler at the upper left identifies the scene as a historical narrative, set in the twelfth or eleventh century B.C., in which a ruler named Wen seeks the advice of a scholar named Jiang Taigong.

Credit: Purchase by subscription, 1879...

Mid-17th century
Porcelain painted with cobalt blue under and colored enamels over transparent glaze (jingdezhen ware)
36.2in
79.2.8
Image and text © Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019

Where you'll find this

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Permanent collection