This crudely constructed piece comprises various moulded and modelled parts with extensive incised surface decoration. The lady with bound feet sits at a table playing a pipa. On the table is a vase, a persimmon-shaped fruit and a smoking pipe. The gentleman sits opposite listening intently. His headdress was a type worn by opera singers around the 18th century indicating this may be a scene from a popular drama. Dehua, located on the southeast coast of Fujian province, is well known for its production of white porcelain, known to Europeans as 'blanc de Chine'. The earliest Dehua porcelain was produced as early as the 14th century but the production and quality of these porcelain peaked around the 17th and 18th centuries.
