Yellow saucer-dish Jingdezhen, southeast China Ming dynasty, Chenghua reign mark and period, AD 1465-1487

Scholars and collectors regard porcelain of the reign of the Chenghua emperor as the best of all time. This dish is glazed in the imperial colour, called ‘chicken-fat yellow’ in Chinese, which could only be used for porcelain in the palace. Only the Emperor, Empress or the Emperor’s mother could use vessels glazed with yellow on both the inside and outside. Porcelain, underglaze blue mark, overglaze yellow enamel. Bequeathed by Mr F. P. M. Schiller.