Illustrating a narrative account of a gathering, this large jar provides a glimpse of Ming elite taste and the rigorous standards and skills required of potters. The story unfolds from the right: a gentleman in a two-story pavilion, attended by two servants, prepares for a visit from three official guests who approach on horseback, in fields enshrouded in clouds. Two preceding servants carry a zither instrument and a wrapped sword, which will be used for intellectual cultivation and martial arts respectively at the upcoming gathering. The way the narrative unfolds, the costumes the figures wear, the luxurious trappings, and the graceful movements and poses of the horses all draw from the legacy of seventh-century academicians (see cat. no. 131).

The figure-in-landscape motif that had been popularized in Yuan blue-and-white was sustained in early Ming porcelain. Beginning in the Xuande period, figures were introduced in a very few blue-and-white pieces (Geng Baochang et al. 2002, vol., 2, pl. 144 – 45). From the mid-fifteenth century, figures in landscapes became increasingly popular in decorations for large-scale pieces. Jingdezhen potters probably executed more orders from wealthy merchants and the educated class, who developed a taste for this material. Such subject matter was a challenge. Potters had to contend not only with common stylized patterns but also with complicated figures, from horses to humans, and compositions comprising architecture and landscape.

Middle Ming porcelain production expressed new fashions and tastes by transferring ink paintings on paper to a hard, three-dimensional medium. One way in which this piece achieves the pictorial effect of brushwork and ink applications is through the use of native Chinese cobalt, which produces a lighter blue, to paint the central scene, and a mix of Chinese and foreign cobalt for the secondary friezes on the shoulder and lower body.