Chrysanthemum-petal Dish

The chrysanthemum-petal dish belongs to a long tradition of vessels shaped after natural forms. Early examples appeared in lacquer and in gold and silver wares, and the form was taken up in porcelain across successive dynasties.

It reached a celebrated high point under the Yongzheng emperor, whose imperial workshops produced chrysanthemum dishes in a series of twelve monochrome colours.

The petals are part of the vessel’s form, not a painted motif: the flower is present in the outline itself.