1919.0062, Dish

Chinese porcelain dish on a footring with low, steep curved sides and a wide sloping rim. Decorated in underglaze blue. In the centre a roundel formed by a row of leaves with rosettes between. The medallion with a veranda on which a Mandarin stands close to a screen, a servant walking towards him offering him something. The sides and rim are divided into four large and four small panels. The smaller, narrow panels contain a flower rosette between symmetrically outward leaning leafwork, or a fruit similarly surrounded by leafwork. The large panels with 1) two men by branches in a landscape; 2) two men sitting in a landscape; 3) two men in a landscape carrying an object under their arms; 4) two men with a carrying pole on their shoulders from which hangs an object. On the reverse four scalloped panels and four narrow panels. There is a large porous area (a firing error) in the centre. Kiln-sand adhering to the footring. This dish dates from the Late Wanli era (15731619), probably the Transitional period.