Blue and white bowl, early Ming dynasty, Yongle period, China, 1402-1424.

Blue and white bowl, early Ming dynasty, Yongle period, China, 1402-1424. An early Ming dynasty blue and white deep bowl painted with a frieze of peony scroll on the exterior, with a narrow band of repeating floral sprays above and a band of classic scroll below. There is a medallion of lotus blossoms on the central interior within a double line border, repeated at the rim. The dark blue pigment is slightly blurred with extensive heaping and piling of the cobalt. (Photo by Museum of East Asian Art/Heritage Images/Getty Images)