Porcelain bowl with yellow glaze, China, Ming dynasty, Zhengde mark and period (1506-21). Diameter: 17.8cm. Cappel Bequest, C.51-1936. Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The colour of this bowl is a fine example of 'imperial yellow' monochrome. Yellow glazes, obtained with the addition of iron oxide, were used in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907) to decorate funerary figures. But the best results in this tonality were achieved on monochrome vessels produced for the imperial court in the kilns of Jingdezhen from the Ming dynasty (1366-1644) onward.