Ming Basin with Lotus Pond in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, August 2023

Title: Basin with lotus pond

Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

Date: late 15th century

Culture: China

Medium: Porcelain with raised slip and enamels (Jingdezhen fahua ware)

Dimensions: H. 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm); Diam. 11 1/4 in. (28.6 cm)
Diam. of rim: 11 1/4 in. (28.6 cm)
Diam. of foot: 7 in. (17.8 cm)

Classification: Ceramics

Credit Line: Bequest of John D. Rockefeller Jr., 1960

Accession Number: 61.200.4

Known as fahua (literally designs with borders), ceramics such as this one share a visual similarity with cloisonné enamel. A white clay paste (or slip) is used to create the outlines of motifs and then filled in with brightly colored enamels. Produced in both north (Shanxi) and south (Jingdezhen) China, fahua ware gained popularity in the late fifteenth to the sixteenth century, slightly later than cloisonné. This elegant work was designed as a small fish bowl or container for paper scrolls on a scholar’s desk.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/49891