Porcelain bowl with underglaze blue and overglaze enamel decoration, Chinese, Jiajing period (1522-1566). Diameter: 18.8 cm. Given from the collection of the late Surgeon-Capt. J. A. Forrest RN. C.68-1954. Victoria & Albert Museum © V&A Images
The bowl has deep rounded sides and the footrim is bound in a copper band. It is painted in blue on the outside with an extended scene of boys playing in a garden. Three boys are gathered around a tub of water; two are engaged in bathing a third who is inside another tub; three more are spinning tops.. The design is enlivened with touches of red and green. The insides are painted in red, green and yellow with a pattern of pendant jewels and festoons. A medallion inside in blue shows a bird perched on a branch above a running hare. The bowl bears the mark of Xuande.