Porcelain - China - 1899

A squared rectangular form porcelain snuff bottle painted with under glazed blue with Su Hui holding a book on one side and a calligraphy with a “leiwen” pattern on the other. A stylized design around the neck and flowers on the shoulders.
Dated 1899.
High : 6,8 cm

Su Hui (351-381)

Su Ruo lan, (Su Hui) wife of the official Dou Tao was a Chinese poetess. Her husband fell in love with a concubine. Public servant, he was called away to occupy a new job and his wife did not want to follow him. But after his departure Su Hui was so sorry, she wrote a poem. She wove the poem on a costly cloth of many hued silk to record her sorrow and regret. When her husband received the cloth he was so touched that he returned near his wife.
Su became famous over the centuries, due to her ability to combine feminine art (embroidery) and poetic composition, and as an example of female virtue. Her work later went down in history. Su Hui was a rare example of an educated woman during this period.