A CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE REVERSE-DECORATED POMEGRANATE DISH, MING DYNASTY (1368-1644) OR LATER

A Chinese Porcelain dish, well potted with shallow rounded sides rising from a short tapering foot to an everted rim, the decoration all reserved in white against a rich sacrificial blue glaze, the interior centered with a large medallion enclosing a flowering pomegranate spray with two open blooms and three attendant buds, interspersed with curling foliage, surrounded by a frieze along the well with four detached fruiting branches of peach, lychee, loquat and persimmon, each rendered at one of the four cardinal points, the exterior with seven large lotus sprays, the blooms and curling foliage lightly incised to render subtle veining, the base left unglazed.
Diameter: 26.4 cm.
Height 5 cm.