Dish

The large bowl from the MAK collection is an excellent example of the fusion of Persian decoration and Chinese motifs. In the midst of a dense decorative tangle of peony tendrils, two long-feathered birds are flying toward one another. The reinterpretation of the—Persian—pheasant into a phoenix and of the foliage into lotus tendrils can be considered as an instance of the mixing of Persian and Chinese traditions, as is typical of the Yuan period. This dish belongs to the earliest group of blue-and-white decorated porcelains, which are not dated before 1320. Persian cobalt blue was used for decoration; it contains a relatively high proportion of oxygenic magnesium, which may cause dark stains in the color while firing.