click image for alternative view
Catalogue No.6
China: Zhengde six character mark and of the period [ 1506-21 ]
Height: 3.3/4in [ 9.5cm ]
Height: 3.3/4in [ 9.5cm ]
A very rare deep bell-shaped underglaze blue and white bowl, the flaring everted rim rising from a short foot,
painted with six cartouches of Arabic inscriptions, on a ground of scrolling lotus and leafy foliage, between borders of scrolling
vines and floral lappets, the interior plain.
The Arabic script may be translated as: Ali – may God have mercy on him – said : Aquire what is pure and abstain from what is tainted.
Reference: for an identical example see plate.77, p.83, vol.35, The Complete Collection of Treasures of The Palace Museum, Beijing