stoutly potted with low, rounded sides rising to a gently everted rim, the interior incised with a three-line poem signed Yu Zhai ('Jade Hall'), the base impressed with a small square illegible seal, covered overall in an ivory glaze.

Note: An inscribed 'Dehua' alms bowl, also with the verses of the poem set within recessed columns, from the Stephen Junkunc III Collection, sold at Christie's New York, 13th - 14th September 2018, lot 1160. See also a 17th century 'Dehua' bowl of the same size and shape as the present example, but freely incised to the interior and exterior with poems by Du Fu and Li Bai, formerly in the Percival David Collection and now in the British Museum (PDF,A.460).

Porcelain with incised decoration and transparent glaze, Dehua ware 德化窯, Dehua, Fujian province 德化, 福建省, Ming dynasty or Qing dynasty, about AD 1600–1700. Diameter 15.4 cm. Inscribed on the interior from a poem by Du Fu, 'Tianzi hu bulai, zicheng jiu zhong xian' (disregarding the Emperor's wishes and calling himself an immortal of the Wine-cup). Inscribed on the exterior, a poem by Li Bai. On loan from Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF A.460. © 2019 Trustees of the British Museum