Description: Vietnamese Nguyen Dynasty Tu Duc Period Blue Underglazed White Porcelain 7-Piece Tea Service for Four W/Crab & Lotus Motif (Has Four Character Marking) - This porcelain tea set for seven includes (4) tea cups, (1) tea bowl, and round trays for both the tea bowl and cups. They are elaborately decorated in a vivid cobalt blue underglaze on both the interior and exterior, depicting a lovely scene of a pair of crabs among lotus flowers. The crab symbolizes a wish to have many children so that the family can be expanded and prolonged, while the lotus symbolizes the purity, serenity, commitment and optimism of the future. The bottom of the dish bears a four character marking in blue underglaze. This piece comes from the estate of a Vietnamese Royal Family (the family now lives in the United States, and wishes to remain private as they still have relatives living in Vietnam). The piece has excellent investment potential, as it is thought by experts around the world and avid collectors that due to the rapid modernization of Vietnam, Vietnamese antiques will within the next ten years be more valuable than Chinese antiques. According to some of the most expert collectors in the world, what used to sell for hundreds are now selling for tens of thousands. Measurements: large tray-7" in diameter, small tray-4.5" in diameter, tea bowl-2.8" in diameter, cups-2.5" in diameter.