This dish is painted with a navigation scene. A large fish, sailing vessel, mountain and wave elements encircle a central medallion with Chinese characters possibly suggesting a compass. The rim is finely painted with the eight trigrams set between trellis patterns.Zhangzhou ware was commonly known as ‘Swatow ware’ due to the previously-held (but mistaken) belief that this type of ceramics was shipped out from the port of Shantou (Swatow) in Guangdong province. They are typically painted with bold decoration, heavily potted and have bases with grit adhering to them. The most common type is decorated in underglaze blue, though examples painted with green, turquoise, and red enamels are also common. These wares were mainly made for export to Japan and Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines. Chinese ceramics were highly prized in these places and were used extensively by the nobility and the elite as status symbols.
