Leaf-Shaped Dish

The owner may have used this small dish to serve condiments at the dinner table or just displayed it as a decorative item. The branch-like handle and feet made from a flowering twig complement the bowl's inventive form: a cupped, heart-shaped leaf. Such naturalistic forms echo Chinese scholars' porcelain brush rests. The floral theme continues around the outside in the painted decoration as birds, spurting fountains, and winged figures intermingle with twisting leafy branches. A fanciful scene of a winged cupid holding a bulrush and seated astride a sea monster decorates the interior.