This quatrefoil shaped basin stands on four stout bulbous legs. It is covered with crackled ivory glaze, characteristic of Ge (哥) ware.Products of Ge kilns have been accorded by porcelain connoisseurs of Ming and Qing dynasties as one of the ‘five great wares of China’. The other four great kilns are Ding, Ru, Jun and Guan. The location of the Ge kilns has yet been found. Some scholars have maintained that Ge wares were not from the Song period, pointing out that the earliest Ge wares have been found only in Yuan tombs and none from Song tombs. Ge wares were also not mentioned at all in Song period texts. Regardless of its actual dating and location, Ge wares were highly esteemed and were copied during the 15th and 16th centuries at Jingdezhen.
