Palace Bowl with Garden Scene, c.1426/1430 (porcelain with underglaze cobalt & clear glaze)

At the end of the thirteenth century the Mongols established the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368) and began to patronize the Jingdezhen kilns to the exclusion of all others as they ascribed protective qualities to white porcelain. One outgrowth of cross-cultural contact within the vast Mongol Empire was the creation of blue and white porcelain during the second quarter of the fourteenth century using cobalt imported from Persia. This blue and white palace bowl decorated with a garden scene was produced during the reign of one of China's most artistically gifted and culturally refined emperors. Inscriptions On convex glazed bottom in blue underglaze: Ta Ming Hsuan Te Nien Chih