Base fragment in bamboo mount, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Chenghua emperor (1465-1487), China, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration. H. 1 in x Diam. 8 1/2 in, H. 2.54 cm x Diam. 21.6 cm. Gift of Roy Leventritt, B69P25L © 2016 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture.

This base of a ware with an unglazed back shows traces of a fine-grained paste with reddish orange tint. A fragment of an honorary plaque, it celebrates the Daoist master magician, Zhang Tianshi, who worked in the south during the Yuan dynasty. This subject, obscured by legend, is portrayed on diverse Chinese artifacts through many dynasties. The master, here emblazoned with the sacred halo, is accompanied by his four heavenly guards and a tiger. With the placement of the deity and all of his guardians in a wind-blown landscape, the picture attests to the remarkable development of drawing on porcelain of the time, in which figures were translated into a series of different poses, in keeping with the artists' notions of narrating a story.