Dish on footring, spreading sides. Decorated in underglaze blue. In the centre a circle containing a flying crane between cloud motifs. Around the central motif the Eight Trigrams, separated by stylised cloud motifs. The sides undecorated, around the rim a small band with a diaper pattern. On the outside a continuous pattern of lotus flowers and scrolls. On the base the four-character mark Da Ming nian zao (made during the great Ming). This type of dish, with undecorated sides and flowing, somewhat ‘fatty’ glaze and greyish-blue colour characterises export produce during the reign of Emperor Jiajing (1522–1566). The Eight Trigrams (ba gua), comprising eight groups of three solid or broken lines written above each other in various combinations, symbolise the cosmos in miniature. They form the basis of the ancient oracle the I Ching: the broken lines represent feminine aspects, the unbroken lines the masculine. The ba-gua were incorporated into Daoist symbolism, but were also used purely as a decorative element. Considering Emperor Jiajing’s interest in Daoism, the use of this motif on porcelain produced during his reign is certainly not coincidental.