Dish with lions

This type of decoration was applied on cups, dishes, and jars of the Jiajing period. The common motifs seen were fishes, cranes, boys, and lions. The interior bottom shows two lions playing with a ball in green enamel decoration on a red background. Around the outside there are another four lions. The red glaze is even and thick. Due to the softness of the clay, the shape was not completely retained during firing, giving this work its slightly concave base, a problem which occurred on many Ming wares. The dark-toned decoration must be the result of experimentation among Jiajing potters.