Dish, anonymous, c. 1700 - c. 1720
Decorated with famille verte enamels, this dish features an anecdote about the master painter Ni Zan (1301-1374) from the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). A lush Wuton-tree (Firmiana simplex, or parasol tree) grew in his garden. He was a firm believer in purity and cultivated the habit of rinsing the tree’s leaves and trunk together with his servant.