7 1/4 in. (18.5 cm.) diam.
Fish has been popular choice of the decorative theme in China since the Neolithic period. The design of fish swimming amongst aquatic plants developed on later ceramics as a decorative theme is due to a combination of artistic, philosophical and lexical reasons. Much of the popularity of fish as a decorative theme, especially in later dynasties, hinges on the fact that the word for fish (yu) is a homophone for the word for abundance or surplus (yu). Over time, the depiction of fish in water has come to provide a rebus for yushui hexie ‘may you be as harmonious as fish and water’. The particular design on the current box and cover which includes a mullet, sole, bream and perch, is especially auspicious, as these fish are pronounced qing, bai, lian and gui, combining to sound like the phrase qingbai lianjie, which means 'of good descent, modest and honorable'. Thus, if presented as a gift, the current box and cover would pay a most gracious compliment to the recipient.