A blue and white porcelain bowl with deep rounded sides on a short foot. The outside is painted with a scroll of lotus flowers on curling stems with leaves and buds, between double lines below the rim and above the foot. Inside, a double line circles the rim, and a medallion in the centre shows a fish swimming among waves and water weed, with tall curling wave crests to one side. The blue is a bright, clear tone under a glaze with fine crackle.
The glazed base carries a six-character Jiajing mark, 大明嘉靖年製 (Da Ming Jiajing nian zhi), written in regular script in two columns of three, in underglaze blue within a double circle; the foot rim is unglazed and fired to an orange tone. A reign mark gives the name of a reign; on its own it does not date a piece. Our guide to Ming reign marks explains how they are read. We attribute the bowl to the Ming dynasty.
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Learn more: The Ming Dynasty · Jiajing Emperor
