Finely enamelled to the exterior with four medallions depicting illustrations from the story of the ‘Cowherd and the Weaver Girl’, each medallion separated by lotus flowers, all reserved on a ruby sgraffiato ground, the interior painted in underglaze blue with a central medallion enclosing pine, prunus and bamboo (the ‘Three Friends of Winter’) within double-line borders, the walls decorated with the flowers of the four seasons: orchid (spring); lotus (summer); chrysanthemum (autumn); and prunus (winter), the glazed base with a Daoguang square seal mark in underglaze blue. Period: Republic. Diameter: 15 cm.