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Dish of saucer shape, the glazed base with kiln grit, the interior with a central medallion showing a peony bush with two large blooms, a pheasant among its leaves. The well with four shaped medallions set against a block diaper topped by lotus, one medallion enclosing a pine, one a chrysanthemum spray, and two prunus sprays. The outside with barely visible scrawls.
The dish belongs to group III as it is painted with prominent block diapers and in outline and wash, here of a uniform light greyish cobalt-blue tone. Zhangzhou dishes showing a pheasant on a flowering branch are usually painted with straight rather than diagonal block diapers. Shards of dishes with this design have been excavated from the Huazilou kiln site in Nansheng, Pinghe county. A dish reconstructed from shards found in the Witte Leeuw (1613) with the same central scene and a straight block diaper on the well is in the museum, as are several other examples. These dishes are in many international collections. This dish came from Indonesia.
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