A pair of mandarin ducks—a longstanding Chinese symbol of marital happiness—rests on the rocky banks of a lotus pond on the interior of this charming dish. The lively rendering of the ducks and lotuses is an engaging example of a renewed interest in naturalism in the art of the sixteenth century. Most likely spurred in part by a contemporaneous explosion in woodblock printing, scenes characterized by naturalistically rendered animals in lush landscape settings are also found in porcelain and other media.
