MING DYNASTY, CIRCA 1500

The shape of this zhadou is very similar to that of a cloisonné enamel example dated to the first half of the 16th century, decorated with lotus scroll on the body and again on the neck above a band of upright petal lappets, illustrated in Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, Asia Society, New York, 1989, no. 86. Both the present gilt-bronze example and the cloisonné enamel example are based on blue and white porcelain prototypes, such as the zhadou of Zhengde date decorated with lotus scroll in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Clark, included in the O.C.S. exhibition, Ming Blue-and-White Porcelain, London, 1946, pl. IV, no. 55.