Literati curios, or wenfang 文房, constitute a varied category of Chinese art including bronzes, paintings, books, porcelain, and more. Curios could be both antiquities or contemporary objects and manifested the literati’s status. Porcelain emerged as one of the most sophisticated genres since the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). An essential tool for calligraphy, the blue and white brush pot is a representative example.

The diverse array of literati curios attests to the paramount importance of this genre within Ming scholarly circles, establishing a refined aesthetic standard that persists today. A calligraphy scroll featuring the literati Wang Shouren unveils the utilitarian role of such vessels. On the desk, a brush and inkstick stand with a unique five-hole design is similar to this blue and white one.

Ming-era publications on literati leisure and connoisseurship, including Wen Zhenheng’s Zhangwuzhi 長物志  (“Treatise on Superfluous Things”, 1621), underscored a vibrant scholarly milieu. This was enabled by the Ming literati’s transition from political affairs to embracing leisure. The shift fueled the creation of unprecedented custom-made porcelain curios, epitomizing the dynamic intersection of intellectual pursuits, craftsmanship, and leisure. The mountain-form brush rest is a renowned type of literati curio, which illustrates the surge in innovative porcelain craftsmanship.

Porcelain associated with the literati also included objects with imagery representing pastimes, virtues, and favoured themes. One of them was the countryside and landscapes, considered a source of solace. These saucers feature mountains, the most important manifestation of qi or “life force of the universe,” trees, and thatched huts, where the scholar-hermit would retreat.