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Blue-and-white dish conveys wishes for a bountiful harvest
Updated: Aug 28, 2023
govt.chinadaily.com.cn
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Check out this Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) blue-and-white dish, that has a center decorated with two men both holding a lamp. Interlocking lotus patterns adorn its inner wall, while its outer wall is embellished with patterns of miscellaneous treasures.
The Chinese word for lamp reads deng, a homophone with the Chinese word for ripe grains. Hence, the patterns of two men holding lamps signify a bountiful harvest of the five grains, conveying people’s wishes for prosperity in their produce.
The dish is in the permanent collection of the Confucius Museum.
