The cup is painted with mythical sea creatures among crested waves. The design has its origins in the Ming Dynasty and several examples from the Xuande period (1425-35) are known. This later imitation has the mark of the Xuande emperor. It was added not in order to deceive eighteenth-century purchasers, but out of reverence for an earlier period of ceramic production.

Provenance: Collection of David Berg (1904-1999); Marchant & Son, London, 8 February 2001; Anthony du Boulay