An exceptional Junyao purple and blue-glazed tripod narcissus bowl, Early Ming dynasty 明初 鈞窰葡萄紫釉鼓釘三足水仙盆 底刻「五」字 with shallow rounded sides curving down to a flat base supported on three gently flaring ruyi-shaped feet, bordered by a band of evenly spaced rounded studs between two raised ribs around the rim, and another band of studs above the feet, the well-proportioned body applied with a thick and opalescent glaze of an alluring purple-and-blue colouration, the interior with an even milky lavender-blue glaze with characteristic 'earthworm tracks' and accentuated with a wash of mottled purple, the rim and exterior with a vibrant purple glaze in tones of mauve, lavender and plum, thinning to a mushroom tone at the raised edges, the base covered with an olive-brown wash and inscribed with a numeral wu (five), surrounded by a neat ring of tiny spur marks revealing the pale buff stoneware body w. 20.7 cm