This large, deep Swatow dish is decorated in white slip (liquid clay) on a brown ground. The central medallion has a qilin gazing at the moon or sun in a garden encircled by dragons amidst clouds in the cavetto. Slip-decorated ‘Swatow’ wares most commonly feature floral patterns, and a higher proportion of which sees the floral design on a blue ground. Designs applied on a brown ground are rarer, especially those featuring birds or mythical animals.Zhangzhou wares such as this were commonly known as ‘Swatow ware’ due to the erroneous belief that the ware was shipped out from the port of Zhantou (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.
