YONGLE PERIOD (1403-1425)

The carved decoration on this bowl relates closely to the designs found on blue and white bowls that were produced at the same time during the early Ming period. There are numerous examples of Yongle and Xuande porcelain bowls with dense lotus scrolls or composite floral scrolls on the exterior and on the interior encircling a central floral medallion. One such example is the Yongle bowl illustrated by John A. Pope, Chinese Porcelain from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington D.C., 1956, pl. 47 (top left).

An early Ming Longquan celadon example with similar classic scroll below the rim, instead of the more common key-fret border, is in the collection of Seikado Bunko Art Musuem, Tokyo, and illustrated in Longquan Ware: Chinese Celadon Beloved of the Japanese, Japan, 2012, p. 82, pl. 93.