A blue and white porcelain plate with a shallow well and a lobed rim edged in blue. The centre is painted in light cobalt tones with sprays of pine, bamboo and plum blossom, the Three Friends of Winter, arranged in a ring inside a border of linked scrolls between double lines. Three cloud-collar panels, outlined and shaded in blue, reach out from the medallion towards the rim.
The underside is painted with a scrolling vine. The base is glazed, with a double blue ring inside the foot ring and, at the centre, a square seal mark in underglaze blue within a square frame. Our guide to Chinese porcelain marks explains how marks are read, and our Qing dynasty page gives the background.
Learn more: The Qing Dynasty
