Bowl (wan) with Water Plants and Arabesques

A deep porcelain bowl on a low foot, painted in cobalt blue under a white glaze. Three clusters of water plants with lotus-like blossoms, leaves and wavering stems rise from a ground of wave or arabesque scrolls, and a band of continuous scrolls runs beneath the rim.

Look closer: A small cluster of foliage and a band of scrolls sit low on the bowl, partly hidden in the shadowed base of the wall.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1506–21

Medium

porcelain

Source

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Size

3333 × 1948 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Cleveland Museum of Art, Anonymous Gift