Blue and white porcelain dish

Yuan period, mid - 14th century

This is a truly exceptional example of 'blue and white', where diluted cobalt oxide is painted on to porcelain, glazed and then fired.  It was first introduced, into China, during the Yuan period and has been incalculably influential ever since.  This particular example, as high an expression of the painter's art as if it had been ink on silk, is also technically interesting.  It combines painting in blue on a white background as well as white on a blue background and also incorporates moulded elements in relief as part of the design.  Most unusually, one of the lotus petal panels inside the dish incorporates a Persian inscription.