A porcelain jar with a short upright neck, broad rounded shoulders and sides tapering to a wide flat base. The main band shows carp swimming among lotus flowers and leaves, waterweed, duckweed and floating sprigs, with touches of red on some of the leaves, flowers and fins. A band of crested waves circles the neck and a peony scroll the shoulder. Below the fish, a lattice band runs above a ring of panels enclosing auspicious emblems, among them a coin and a flaming jewel. The blue is pale, as the jar was fired a little low.
The glaze is creamy and finely crackled. The base is flat and unglazed, showing a buff to orange body with concentric throwing rings, and there is no mark. The jar was made at a local kiln rather than the official one. Our page on the early Ming dynasty covers the period.
Learn more: The Ming Dynasty
