Dish, stoneware with green 'celadon' glaze, Longquan kilns, China, 14th century. Diameter: 31.5 cm. C.1-1940. Bequeathed by Mr Arthur Hurst. © V&A Images.

 Large dish with fluted sides, wavy edge and narrow rim, decorated with incised scrolls, 'chevron-and-scale- pattern and central stylised flower under the glaze, covered with green 'celadon' glaze and with four moulded and unglazed fish in relief.

Green-glazed stonewares from Zhejiang were the most common type of Chinese ceramics exported to the Middle East before 1400. This dish was thrown and carved before being given a thick green 'celadon' glaze, which has pooled in the incised decoration and carved fluting.

The four fish were made separately in moulds and applied to the unfired glaze. They turned red when the dish was fired. A chip on the rim reveals the contrast between the smooth glaze and the granular texture of the underlying stoneware.