The oval-shaped bowl rests on four applied feet in the form of shells, modelled in high relief and covered with a deep blue glaze. On the interior, a scene is painted in blue and white depicts a mother holding a ruyi, accompanied by her son, within an enclosed garden.The scene is framed by a border of trelliswork and a frieze of ruyi motifs on the rim.
This form is sometimes found on Chinese armorial service, for the Portuguese and English market. See the service of William Dalrymple (c1739–76), preserved in Newhailes House.
The shell-shaped feet reflect the European taste for the Rocaille style that dominated the decorative arts in the mid-eighteenth century. Chinese porcelain workshops readily adapted this fashionable motif for the export market, translating the fluid vocabulary of Rococo ornament into sculptural ceramic form.
