6.5 x 33cm

The Buddhist lion in reserve on a ground of dense foliage and cloud scrolls is characteristic of the Chinese Kraakporselein exported for the European market. The cavetto bears a Persian quatrain incised in black slip advising the owner to be content with the worldly goods he has,

‘Do not call for more discs of blood from the firmament
Ask for fingers dipped in honey [but] do not eat a hundred times more.
Leave the colourful worldly delights
And seek the heart of hundred thousand dervishes [instead].’

J.M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection, London 2010, cat.379, pp.320–21.