Blue and eggplant glazed stoneware urn, China, Ming style Molded with a design of two dragons in clouds facing each other around a Buddhist plaque bearing an inscription. It stands on a tripod base topped with eggplant and green enamelled lotus petals. The inscription: 大明成化元年姚文公之位 Dà Míng Chéng Huà Yuán Nián yáowén Gōng zhī Wèi, could be translated as: the first year of the Chenghua era (1465) of the great Ming, under the authority of the lord of literature Yao. It is most likely a gift to a temple. The urn may be incomplete and a removable neck missing. Height of urn: 27 cm - Height of base: 10.5 cm (incomplete)