Dish, porcelain painted in underglaze blue with phoenixes and flowers, China, Yuan dynasty, mid 14th century. Height: 6.4 cm, Diameter: 41.3 cm. Owner’s mark punched in the base. Museum no. 102-1899. © V&A Images.

Painted in underglaze blue with two phoenixes amid peonies and foliage in a central medallion, surrounded by a broad band of lotus scroll and foliage, and on the rim is a diaper border. The outside has a row of rectangular panels with scroll designs.

The dense decoration and symmetrical arrangement on this large dish is characteristic of 14th century Chinese decoration. Contemporary woodblock illustrations would have provided the basis of the design while the shape and layout would have been garnered from Middle Eastern metalware or ceramic models. Many of the designs on Yuan dynasty pieces would have been replicated in a standard manner however vessels often showed minor variations in layout and execution. 

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. 139

Exhibition: Passion for Porcelain: Ceramic Masterpieces from the British Museum and V&A (National Museum of China, Beijing 22/06/2012-06/01/2013)

A very close example is in the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul (Krahl 1986: 494, cat. 566)