Lotus-petal bowl

Sitting on an angled foot, this bowl is carved to suggest two overlapping layers of lotus petals surrounding the outside and reaching up to its everted (outward curving) rim. While lotus petal motifs appear on ceramic and metal vessels as early as the Tang dynasty, the straight sides of this bowl recall a Ming profile and may suggest a lacquer prototype of that period. The attempt to imitate precious stone and the small scale of the bowl suggest that it was destined for display in a curio cabinet rather than for actual use.