A conical bowl on a short foot, under a pale grey-green glaze. A single calligraphic character is painted in the centre, and the outside has a band of scalloped petals near the foot, both in underglaze blue that fired to a dark blue-green. Kiln sand is stuck to the foot and the base, the mark of Swatow ware.
Swatow is the trade name for the export porcelain made at the Zhangzhou kilns in Fujian in the late Ming dynasty. When China reopened its ports in 1567, Zhangzhou turned out fast, cheaply potted wares for markets from Japan and the Philippines to Indonesia and the Middle East. The potters fired the pots on beds of coarse sand, which stuck to the feet. The quick, loose brushwork and the gritty foot are exactly what collectors look for, and the Japanese prized these pieces for the tea ceremony.
Condition: Hairline crack and small chips to the rim.
