Chinese porcelain plate decorated in underglaze cobalt blue (qinghua) base with a six-character mark of Kangxi and of the period.

Fine Chinese porcelain plate decorated in underglaze cobalt blue (qinghua) with two ladies in an outdoor setting, the base with a six-character mark of Kangxi within a double ring and of the period, Qing dynasty, d. 20,7 cm, 8¼ in. (minute chip to unglazed footrim) 9-22252 (5333)

◆ The scene possibly represents Diaochan, one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Based on a minor historical personage she is mostly a fictional character. She is best known for her role in a 14th century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms about events in the late Eastern Han dynasty. In the novel she has a romance with the warrior Lu Bu and causes him to betray and kill his foster father, the tyrannical warlord Dong Zhuo. She was praised and a woman of great beauty who did what no other hero in China was able to accomplish, put an end to Dong Zhuo's regime of terror and the eventual end of Lu Bu triggering the events that would lead to the formation of The Three Kingdoms.