Plate with aquatic plants. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt decoration. Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Yongle Emperor (1403-1424). Gift of Roy Leventritt. B69P7L. Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. © 2011 Asian Art Museum

H. 2 1/4 in x Diam. 12 1/4 in, H. 5.8 cm x Diam. 31.2 cm.

The Yongle emperor, third ruler of the Ming dynasty and the younger son of its founder, moved the main dynastic capital from Nanjing, in Jiangsu province near the Yangtze river, to Beijing in the north. The building of a new capital and the decoration of the vast palace structures there were a boon for the arts. A range of objects was created in large numbers at the porcelain kilns in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, and shipped to the new capital. The large number of plates with designs of aquatic plants still in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing indicate that this pattern was popular with the Yongle emperor and his court.