D1: 10 cm H1: 3cm
D2: 10.5 cm H2: 3cm

As a representative work of chrysanthemum dishes, this pair of dish has a small and delicate shape resulting from exquisite craftsmanship. The body rises from a countersunk base, glazed overall with a sedate olive-green glaze unique to Yaozhou kilns. Tao Yuanming, a Chinese poet lived in the Eastern Jin dynasty had a preference for chrysanthemums as he stated in one of his famous poems, ‘While picking chrysanthemums beneath the Eastern fence, my gaze upon the Southern mountain rests’. Since then, Chinese poets and scholars used chrysanthemum as a symbol of virtue and uprightness in their works spread through ages. Besides poets and paintings, design of chrysanthemum was also largely applied to wares, making chrysanthemum shaping a tradition of ancient Chinese wareproducing procedure. This pair of dish is fascinating as it seems to be a green chrysanthemum blooming in the palms of people’s hands. The fragileness of leaf-shaped rim makes this complete pair all the more valuable.