Plate

The plate is complete; there are slight flaws on the inner base and a few cracks. The plate is circular with a plain rim. The rim slopes slightly inwards, the wall is low and the bottom is flat and recessed. The plate rests on a small, glaze-free, milled foot; the decoration is traced and hand-painted in underglaze blue. The decoration covers the rim, wall and bottom of the plate. It is of the lake landscape type. The border frieze is complex, consisting of two groups of elements repeated in alternation and bordered by a wide blue-painted ring near the rim. One group consists of a wide braid decorated with a lattice; its ends are concave and bordered by a flower. The other group is composed of two rows of core cells trimmed with two blue-painted Greciques; it is bordered at each end by a blue-painted Ruyi head in reserve. The other group is composed of a polylobed element, the center of which is lined with core beads and the edges with fine latticework; it supports two leafy, flowering stems. The decoration on the wall appears to be a wide cord trimmed with knotted, angled cords. The background depicts an oriental scene with water and islands painted in dark blue; it is encircled by a ring. The main island is bordered by rocks and supports a pavilion with a stepped roof, closed at the back by a fence with vertical posts and openwork panels, and provided with a courtyard that appears to be paved. A willow and a leafy tree stand on either side of the pavilion, in front of which is a rock with a hole in it, a symbol of the Chinese philosophy of Taoism, traced and painted in blue. An adjacent island houses a small pavilion with a gabled roof and a willow tree; a figure stands by the water. In the background, another island features a pavilion, a thatched building and a willow tree. Birds flutter in the sky.