Square porcelain dish with underglaze blue decoration, Ming dynasty, Longqing mark and of the period, 1567-1572. Length: 12 cm. Width: 12 cm. Height: 3.2 cm. Bequeathed by Henry J Oppenheim, 1947,0712.219. © Trustees of the British Museum.

This square dish has flared sides which are indented at the corners and sits on a square foot, similarly modelled. It is decorated in vivid cobalt blue beneath the glaze. Inside in a double square panel, two ladies, one holding an open letter, are standing on a broad path beneath a blossoming tree. They are slim and elegant, dressed in long robes, with their hair piled high up on top of their heads. Individual floral sprays are painted on each of the walls. Outside each side shows a bird perching in a fruiting peach tree. The base carries a four-character Longqing reign mark in a double square which reads 'Longqing nian zao' [Made in the Longqing reign period].