Porcelain jar and cover painted in underglaze blue, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424). Height: 14 cm (with lid), Width: 12.5 cm. Donated by Mrs Ivy Clark (née Sanders), 1972,0619.1.a © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

This ovoid jar has a wide base with a narrow foot ring, short neck with a broad mouth and a domed cover with a lotus-bud finial. It is exquisitely painted with a continuous scene of assorted flowering plants growing from a sketchily delineated ground, including Chinese pinks, chrysanthemums, millet, hostas and other herbaceous plants. The base is glazed and slightly concave. 

Harrison-Hall 2001:
Plants growing in this fashion from undulating soil may also be seen on a blue-and-white pen box excavated from the Yongle stratum at Zhushan in 1984. In support of this dating are the pure white porcelain body and soft-focus blue cobalt effect employed on the present jar.