Polychrome Crabapple-flower Shaped Plate with Figures

In Chinese ceramics, “Five colors” means “polychrome” and refers to porcelain with multicolored glazes always including red. Polychromed ceramics are generally divided into two major groups: over-glaze and blue-and-white. This unusual dish in the shape of a crabapple blossom has a polychrome painting of a small boat on a river. This type of porcelain ware is characteristic of its time, crabapple-blossom-shaped decorated porcelains were frequently produced for export to Japan.