The centres are each moulded in relief with twin carp and with flat everted rims, the undersides with lotus petals under brilliant blue-green celadon glazes.

The twin fish are in China emblematic of marital bliss and these may originally have been a wedding present. They are also one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism, which also represent regeneration. Major Duberly noted that they represented “Conjugal Felicity and Fertility”.

Literature: Anthony du Boulay, The Duberly Collection of Chinese Art at Winchester College (Winchester, 2019), p. 14; Anthony du Boulay, Chinese Porcelain (London, 1963), colour plate 15

Provenance: Bequeathed as part of the Duberly Collection, 1978; purchased by Major Montagu and Lady Eileen Duberly from John Sparks, 18 August 1960 (£300); from the E.L. Paget Collection, no. 13

Location: Treasury, Gallery 2