Dish, painted in underglaze blue with mandarin ducks in a lotus pond, China, Yuan dynasty, 14th century. Diameter: 15.9 cm. C.189-1931. © V&A Images.

Porcelain dish with lobed rim. Painted in underglaze blue on the inside with a pair of mandarin ducks in a lotus pond, scrolling border round the rim. The blue pigment is heaped with blackish specks. Base unglazed.

After 1300, Chinese potters at Jingdezhen began to decorate the local white porcelain in cobalt blue. They perfected the painting technique, so that the blue did not run during firing. Large dishes were made for export to the Middle East, where the cobalt for the blue had come from. Smaller items such as this dish was for the home market.

Bibliographic References: Ayers, John. Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Sotheby Parke Bernet, in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1980, Monochrome Plate No. 135