This ovoid shaped jarlet has a short neck, flat shoulders with cloud-shaped lappets and an almost straight body. It has four panels of deer on the body painted in a greyish blue underglaze. The glaze is heavily crackled. Zhangzhou wares such as this were commonly known as ‘Swatow ware’ due to the fact that the ware was shipped out from the port of Shantou (Swatow). These wares were mainly made for export to Japan and Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. Chinese ceramics were highly prized in these places and were used extensively by the nobility and the elite as status symbols. They were also exported to West Asia and Europe.
