18th century The flattened spherical body rising from a rectangular foot rim to a waisted neck and small bulb-shaped head, flanked with two elegantly arched strap handles ended with a ruyi-head terminal resting on the shoulder, freely painted in deep tones of cobalt accented with 'heaping and piling', the domed circular front and back depicting a mixed bouquet of lotus and other other water plants, the neck and head with a branch of flowers on both sides, the handles outlined with double lines extending to the ruyi terminus, above two branches of lotus running down the narrow sides, all covered with a glossy glaze of smooth texture, the foot rim unglazed, stand. 26cm (10 1/4in) high. (2).