Gourd dish

This dish, formed into the shape of a gourd with straight sides and three looped feet, was another common type produced for export to Japan. A traveling entourage of officials is represented on a mountain in the foreground on the interior. Led by three servants carrying luggage, the official on horseback in the center is shaded under a canopy which is held by a fourth servant. The poetic tone of the drawing evokes ink paintings of the late Ming period. Peeled-off areas around the lip are often seen on more common wares of the period, though not, apparently, those on those made at Jingdezhen.