Yellow Ground Dish, one of a pair

In many respects, the porcelains of the Yung-cheng reign (1723-1735) represent a high point in Ch'ing ceramics. They are exquisitely refined, artistically and technically accomplished, but seldom mechanical or contrived. The combination of blue floral sprays against a yellow ground seen here evolved during the Ming dynasty (15th-16th century) and was revived during the Yung-cheng and Ch'ien-lung reigns (1736-95). On the interior of these imperial dishes, ribbon-tied bouquets of lotus blossoms, seed pods, and leaves with sagittaria and other water plants are clearly set against a pale, yellow ground.