Saucer dish
Category
Ceramics
Date
c. 1600 - 1620
Materials
Porcelain, cobalt, iron oxide
Measurements
170 mm (Width)
Place of origin
Jingdezhen
Order this imageCollection
Belton House, Lincolnshire
NT 433430
Summary
Set of four dishes, porcelain, of robrown und, lobed shape with upturned sides, made at Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, China, Wanli period (1573–1619), c. 1600–20, decorated in reserve against underglaze blue with egrets among lotus plants in the centre and with various flowering plants around the sides, the rims dressed in iron oxide brown, with apocryphal Chenghua reign (1465–87) marks on the bases.
Full description
The motif of a white egret wading through the mud at the bottom of a pond or stream was associated with the virtuous government official remaining unsullied while being engaged in public life.
Provenance
Purchased by the National Trust with support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, 1984.