Thinly potted Ding ware dish with narrow flattened rim, wide flared sides from a narrow foot with flat base. The body is a fine, white porcellanous stoneware, covered with a thin, glossy, clear glaze with olive greenish tinge. The dish is decorated with a carved floral design with combed detail at centre, encircled by an incised ring. A repair at mouth rim. The exterior rim and base are unglazed showing that it was fired in an upright position. It was placed in a step sagger shaped like a large bowl with its inner surface ridged with a series of steps. This device was an economic way to fire multiple dishes or bowls of similar size. It preceded the 'fu-shao' firing method, a later development of the Ding kilns in which dishes and bowls were fired upside-down in a step sagger.
See Li, Huibing & Bi, Nanhai, 1987. Development of Firing Technique of the Ding Ware and Periodization. Kaogu, 12, pp. 1119 - 1128.
