A blue and white porcelain jar with a short upright neck and broad rounded shoulders, the sides tapering to the foot. The main band is painted with horses galloping over waves among clouds, each with a flowing tail and a ribbon-like streamer rising from its shoulder. A band of scrolls circles the neck and a band of radiating panels the shoulder; below the horses, a scroll border runs above a band of petal panels, each enclosing a cloud.
The glazed base carries a six-character Hongwu mark, 大明洪武年製 (Da Ming Hongwu nian zhi), written in regular script in two columns of three, in underglaze blue within a double circle, inside a broad unglazed foot ring. A reign mark gives the name of a reign; on its own it does not date a piece. Our guide to Chinese porcelain marks explains how marks are read.
The blue varies in tone because one side of the jar sat too close to the fire in the kiln.
We can send further photographs on request.
Learn more: Hongwu Emperor
