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Description

The blue and white four season flower patterned flat pot is a unique and extremely rare representative work of the Ming Yongle period. The body of the vessel is flat and round, with a slightly extravagant mouth, a thick neck, sloping shoulders, a large belly, oval shaped circular feet, and glazed bottom feet. The texture is delicate and pure, with a slight blueish tint on the white glaze and ice cracks on the glaze surface. The mouth is decorated with rolled grass patterns, the neck is decorated with tangled branches and flowers, and the pot body is decorated with tangled branches and seasonal flowers. The material used for blue and white is Su Ni Bo Qing, which has the characteristics of "seeping green" and "scattered and turbid". The blue color is bright, and sometimes there are dark spots due to seeping green, giving it the charm of ink painting. When used with graceful brushstrokes, it exudes an imposing aura. Against the backdrop of black crystal spots, it highlights the clear and bright color characteristics. From known data, it can be seen that the Yongle Blue and White Four Seasons Flower Pattern Flat Pot was collected in the Yangzhou Museum in Jiangsu Province. Fragments of the Yongle Blue and White Four Seasons Flower Pattern Flat Pot were found in the Zhushan Imperial Kiln Factory Site by the Jingdezhen Archaeological Research Institute. Whether it is an unearthed physical object or a museum collection, its shape, decorative style, production techniques, and firing process are basically consistent with this physical object. In terms of the effect of applying glaze only on the bottom foot, the decorative effect of white oil on the unearthed objects in Jingdezhen is not very obvious, with obvious traces of glaze brushing. This may also be one of the reasons why they were abandoned at that time. The shape of the Yongle Blue and White Four Seasons Flower Pattern Flat Pot is completely identical to that of the Yongle Blue and White Four Seasons Flower Pattern Flat Pot, but the decorative patterns are different, including the Blue and White Ocean Wave Carved White Dragon Pattern Flat Pot, the Blue and White Dragon Piercing Flower Flat Pot, and the Blue and White Cloud Dragon Pattern Flat Pot. Among them, the white dragon flat teapot with wave patterns has also been unearthed in Zhushan, Jingdezhen. From the analysis of the shape of the flat pot, we can easily identify the Islamic cultural elements it contains. This also confirms the development history of Chinese porcelain, and there is a foreign cultural element that has played a significant role in promoting Chinese porcelain. This is the foreign cultural element brought by the two "Silk Roads" of land and sea, among which the Islamic cultural element that emerged in West Asia has the greatest influence and longest duration. The Yongxuan period of the Ming Dynasty was a glorious period for the flourishing of China's porcelain industry, which was related to the lifting of the ban on the sea and the active foreign policy of "emperors in the center and pacifying all nations" in the early Ming Dynasty. It is worth mentioning that the high-quality porcelain painting material "Su Ni Bo Qing" brought back by Zheng He Yuanhang was directly used in the firing of blue and white porcelain, improving the quality of blue and white porcelain and directly promoting the development of the porcelain industry. The cobalt material "Suma Liqing" was produced in the Persian Iranian region and was a trade item between Arab merchants and Zheng He at that time. This high-quality porcelain painting material disappeared after Zheng He's seven voyages to the West and has now become the standard for identifying the characteristics of porcelain during this period. So, the achievements of Yongxuan blue and white porcelain in terms of hair color and the glory of Ming Dynasty porcelain are directly related to Zheng He, and are also the most prominent examples of the influence of Islamic culture on Chinese porcelain. As is well known, there was not much change in the shape of Chinese porcelain from the Han Dynasty to the Tang and Song Dynasties, reflecting the aesthetic habits of Chinese people. Since the Yuan Dynasty, due to the influence of various cultures, this change became more diverse in the early Ming Dynasty, with more than ten types of flat pots alone. The overall characteristics of the design are vigorous, full, and upright. Various flat pots, painted folding edges, and large diamond shaped plates have a distinct Persian charm, and copper objects of this kind can still be seen in West Asia today. The blue and white four season flower patterned flat pot not only has a strong Western Asian style in its design, but also a decorative style