Large dish with a flat rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a qilin and rocks and plants, surrounded by a lotus scroll on the sides and a geometric pattern on the rim.
Detailed description
China had a long tradition in the area of export ceramics. During the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) a completely new, complicated decorative technique was developed for export porcelain, namely painting in underglaze blue. The cobalt is applied to the unglazed porcelain and this untreated surface absorbs the paint directly. The porcelain painter needs a steady hand, as too high a concentration of cobalt results in black dots in the decoration that moreover burn through the glaze. This large dish exemplifies how quickly the porcelain painters mastered the technique of working with cobalt-blue in a short space of time. The dish has a well-balanced decoration. In the centre is a qilin, a mythical animal above a rock and between flowering shrubs and surrounded by a band of blossoming lotus scrolls. The clear blue shows various nuances.
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