Dish on footring, flat rim. Decorated in underglaze blue. On the centre and sides a landscape with mountains, a river, houses on the riverbank, a moored fishing boat to the right. On the rim three fruit-bearing sprays, one of which is a pomegranate. On the reverse three peach sprays. On the base a flower spray. The shape and decoration, especially on the reverse and base, strongly link this piece to the dish, cat. 50. The mountainous landscape is portrayed in the style of the ‘the master of the rocks’, where the painted parallel lines depicting the rocks suggest their shape and density. This style was popular c. 1660–1690 and was definitely not derived from the work of a single master. (see also cat. 52{}). The kind of pastoral landscape depicted here appealed not only to the sensibilities of Chinese literati who idealised rest and contemplation in nature, but also to the Western notion of China as an unspoiled paradisical land.