1-233-641 - The Museum of East Asian Art/Heritage Images

Five dishes of pointed shield shape, polychrome on biscuit, Kangxi period, Qing dynasty, China, 1662-1722. Five sancai biscuit cruet dishes, each with flat rim with formal flower borders in green and aubergine on yellow ground and reverse with flower sprays in black on yellow ground. The dishes are individually decorated as follows: (1) rock, magnolia spray and birds; (2) peony sprays, cricket and mosquitoes in yellow, green and aubergine, (3) and (4) butterflies and flowers and (5) three birds in a bare tree. These dishes would have been arranged on a circular tray with a bowl in the centre. They would have held sweets to be offered to guests visiting during New Year.