The present stembowl is an archaistic form of those first developed in the Ming dynasty Yongle period decorated with a translucent Tianbai or 'sweet white' glaze. A pair of stemcups of this pattern is in the Baur Collection, illustrated by J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. III, no. A418 and 419. Compare also two identical stembowls, the first sold in these Rooms, 30 October 2001, lot 838; and the other from the Evelyn Annenberg Hall collection, sold in our New York Rooms, 29 March 2006, lot 123.