Period:Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Date:early 15th century
Culture:China
Medium:Cloisonné enamel
Dimensions:H. 1 in. (2.5 cm); Diam. 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Classification:Cloisonné
Credit Line:Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Gift, 1993
Accession Number:1993.338
Lively scrolling lotuses and acanthus leaves are set against a turquoise blue background on the interior (and parts of the exterior) of this dish. In fifteenth-century examples, this background color is often combined with shades of red, yellow, cobalt blue, white, and dark green, which were not mixed but placed individually within each cloison. Although cloisonné was known in China in the fourteenth century, fifteenth-century pieces, such as this dish, are the earliest preserved examples.