Dish of porcelain with decoration painted in enamel colours fo the famille verte and gilt. Mark; a mugwort leaf in double ring in underglaze blue. Round the rim, a border of flowered diaper patterns (lozenge, hexagon, circles), broken by four circular medallions and four heart-shaped panels containing flowers, birds, squireels and emblems. In the centre, a scene in the garden of a house. Three ladies are playing ball, while a fourth watches from a veranda. Behind the latter appears a maid servant carrying a cup on a tray. To the left, stands and vases of flowers and a perment bearing the pa Kua. In the foreground, a fish-pool yu ch'ih with two children at play. A country house of the Ming period; the ladies are playing a version of shuttlecock, using their feet instead of a battledore.