CHINE, XIXEME-XXEME SIECLE Reposant sur un petit pied, le centre est orné d'une inscription arabe à l'intéri d'un médaillon entouré par quatre autres inscriptions. La base porte une inscription Da Ming Zhengde nian zhi transcrit phonétiquement en lettres arabes dans un double cercle. Diamètre: 16 cm. (6 ? in.)
This present jade dish is extremely rare and seems to be modelled after the iron-red porcelain dishes bearing almost the identical decoration. The inscription in the central roundel may transcribed as 'Allah provides for whom He wills without account' within 'Praise be to you, exalted and mighty'. The four inscriptions on the outer rim are comprised of the phrase, 'the Mighty God, the Most Great told the truth', written twice in Arabic and twice in Persian. One of these dishes in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, is illustrated in Enamelled Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1966, vol. II, pl. 7.