Bowl

The introduction of a brilliant translucent green enamel to the existing wucai palette of yellow, red, dark green, aubergine and underglaze blue was an important innovation in the development of polychrome porcelain. Wares decorated in several shades of green were particularly prized at the imperial court in Beijing. Their smooth, clear glazes and sophisticated decoration also found wide appeal in the courts of Europe in the seventeenth century. This bowl is decorated with a well-known design from that period, showing horses, flowers and auspicious emblems against a green background of swirling waves. The crests of the waves and some of the horses have been intentionally left without enamel, revealing the white body of the porcelain.