A Ming porcelain jar and cover painted in underglaze blue. A swelling, ovoid potiche, the sides spreading slightly at the foot and the unglazed base recessed, with waisted neck and mouth rim unglazed; the low, domed cover with ball knob and pointed finial. In four upright, oval panels round the sides is painted the figure of an archer, of western Asiatic appearance, with moustache and a large beard, wearing a fur cap with streamer behind, in a full-length, collared and belted robe, with a slung sword and a quiver of arrows at his side, in the act of aiming an arrow. Joining the panels round the belly is a narrow, fringed band with four versions of a scene with Western-style buildings, a church with a spire, trees and plants. In the sides above and below are tulip sprays and scrollwork, with various exotic blooms, with scrolling borders round the foot and neck. On the cover are four oval panels with a Chinese scholar and an attendant, with tulip-like plants between. The knob is decorated with a miniature landscape with a pavilion.

Text adapted from Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen: Volume I.