A blue and white porcelain bowl with deep rounded sides rising to a slightly flared rim. The outside is painted with a continuous lotus scroll, the full blossoms linked by curling, leafy stems, above a band of petal panels round the foot, each enclosing a cloud motif. Inside, a blue line circles the rim and the walls are filled with scrolling stems and leaves round a double-ring medallion, which frames a single large peony with leaves spreading behind it. The blue is deep, with darker spots where the cobalt gathered.
The glazed base carries a six-character Xuande mark, 大明宣德年製 (Da Ming Xuande nian zhi), written in regular script in two columns of three, in underglaze blue within a double circle, inside an unglazed foot ring. 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. The glaze shows a fine crackle.
Learn more: The Ming Dynasty · Xuande Emperor
