Blue-and-white Cricket Pot with the Design of Dragon among Clouds

Most extant cricket pots are datable to the Xuande (1426-1435), Longqing and Wanli (1573-1620) reigns, which suggests these emperors’ hobbies. The pot is decorated with the motif of a pair of dragons playing with a pearl on the lid and the exterior wall. A reign mark on the base reads “Made in the Longqing reign” (Da Ming Longqing nian zao). A notable nuance of the reign marks on most porcelain wares of imperial provenance datable to the Longqing reign use the character “manufacture” (zao) instead of made (zhi).