Presented is an extremely rare Chinese porcelain Min Yao (for the common man) large round deep dish with hand-painted underglaze blue and white decor. The saucer is very shady on the potter’s wheel, made from an off white clay with an almost white satin colored covering on the front and a light bluish white covering on the back. At the front, the shelf is painted in underglaze blue with rock formations behind which the “three friends” (bamboo, prunus tree, pine tree) are painted. Externally this is flat bordered by a blue concentric line and with a frieze of repetitive flower buds and curved lines between two parallel concentric lines. Almost without elevation, a broad, strongly curved border is painted with a busy decor of curls, elongated foliage, pomegranates, a prunus branch, a bird in flight, an elephant (?) and gridwork in dark black-grey cobalt, classic for early Chenghua that still has many characteristics of Xuande blue and white. There is a clear “heaped and pilled” effect with rust spots. The decor is washed in with thick brush stripes. We also see the sparse presence of minuscule fairly even bubbles in the glaze spread over the entire plate. Sufficient unpainted covering remains to keep the whole thing airy. The white edge is bordered with a fine blue circular line. On the back, the border bears a light bluish-white covering that is hand-painted all around with branches and leaves in line and curls with a five-lobed flower in the center. The border is delineated on the outside with one circular line, and at the transition to the unglazed low base ring with three parallel concentric lines. The center has a lighter light white-blue cover with a clear wavy movement. Externally we see one dark blue circular line. In the center we see an almost black-blue hand-painted six character mark, rudimentary and almost childlike, and standing for the imperial government mark of Emperor Chenghua (1465-1487). The mark, although this may even seem false at first sight, may nevertheless correspond to that of Emperor Chenghua, since he had to draw his mark already as an emperor at an early age. All the features described are highly indicative of a dish marked with and from the early reign of Emperor Chenghua (1465-87).

Condition: baking flaw in the cover, some baking flaws on the back of the base ring, small crack in the center at the back, but otherwise in very good condition. Extremely rare and museum piece!