Dish with the Eight Buddhist Symbols, ca 1403-1487, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Xuande emperor (1426-1435)-Reign of the Chenghua emperor (1465-1487), China, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration, qinghua ware. H. 2 1/4 in x Diam. 10 5/8 in, H. 5.7 cm x Diam. 27 cm. Gift of Roy Leventritt, B69P29L. © 2016 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture

The interior of this work is decorated with a blooming plant on a rock, symmetrically flanked by two smaller plants. Eight lotus flowers correlate to the Eight Buddhist Symbols bordering the side. Around the foot are eight flower branches. A new decorative scheme of building up plants vertically over rocks in the center of the interior of a dish appeared on Ming ceramics. The rigidly formal outline and the heavy washes are characteristic of early underglaze-blue vessels. The grayish blue color suggests that Chinese cobalt was used.