Bowl on footring, spreading rim. Covered with underglaze powder blue, with, in reserve, three times a sitting Chinese woman in underglaze blue and underglaze red. The inside undecorated. ‘Powder blue’ is a variant of underglaze blue. It is obtained by blowing cobalt pigment onto the surface of a porcelain object through one end of a thin bamboo pipe, the opposite end of which is covered with fine gauze. The uneven coating creates a lively effect. The object is glazed and then fired. Underglaze red is obtained by using copper oxide for the decoration and firing the piece in a reduction kiln, a difficult technique because of the subtle temperature control required. Allowing more oxygen to circulate in the kiln turns the colour green. Powder blue and copper-red were frequently combined on porcelain of c. 1700.