A FAMILLE ROSE VASE

The scene on this vase almost certainly depicts an episode from San guo yan yi (The Romance of The Three Kingdoms), although the specific scene is difficult to identify. The figure holding a pair of swords may represent the late Eastern Han warlord Liu Bei, and the warrior wielding the spear, his trusted general, Zhang Fei. The scene depicted may have been inspired from an illustrated edition of the story printed for mass consumption.