Porcelain tea bowl with a straight ring foot and hand painted enamel decoration over clear glaze. The rim is slightly chipped. The outside of the bowl is decorated with a female figure looking out from her study. The scene is similar to those illustrated in woodblock printed books that served as models for designs for ceramics or other works of art from the late Ming to Qing dynasties. Inscriptions in black enamel are painted on the other side, with a poem, date, place and the artist’s name. A red seal of the workshop name is stamped on the base. The inscription in black enamel on the side of the bowl, “牕裡嬌聲, qiáng lǐ jiāo shēng”, describes the theme of the female figure reading in her study. It is followed by a lunar year name “庚戌, gēng xū” which might refer to the year 1910 in the Xuān Tǒng period of Qing dynasty. The place of the manufacture and the name of the maker “潘植南, pān zhí nán” are on the vertical columns. 潘植南, or pān zhí nán, was a well known porcelain artist in the Qing dynasty.
