"Scholars in the Garden" Blue and White Jar

A connoisseur of fine ceramics, the scholar who owned this jar surely demonstrated his vast knowledge of the time-honored technique of blue-and-white glazing by proudly displaying it among his prized objects. A departure from the more carefully delineated designs of earlier ceramics, this Qing-dynasty jar is broadly brushed with elegant, willowy figures, evocative of scholars traversing an artfully groomed garden.