Quatrefoil dish, China, Ming dynasty (1368- 1644), Jiajing mark and period (1522 - 1566), Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, 2.3 x 16.0 x 12.0 cm. Gift from the J.H. Myrtle Collection 2003, 138.2003. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (C) Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

The following is a translation [of the poem] by Dr.S.W. Bushell, ‘Oriental Ceramic Art’. D. Appleton and Company, New York, 1899.

"Finest tribute tea of the first picking
And a bright full moon prompt a line of verse.
A lively fire glows in a bamboo stove
The water is boiling in the stone griddle,
Small bubbles rise like eyes of fish or crab.
Of rare Ch'i-chiang tea, rolled in tiny balls,
One cup is enough to lighten the heart,
And dissipate the early winter chill."

Chinese Porcelain of the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, 1977, pg. 34