The sturdily potted sides of the steep bowl rising to the lipped rim, decorated on the exterior in a thickly-applied, rich copper red glaze with three stylized fish, the splayed foot with knife-pared unglazed rim, six character mark in underglaze-blue within a double circle to the centre of the cup. 4.1 inch Diameter (10.41 cm)3.4 inch H (8.63 cm)Similar Item: Sold $1,964,741 on April 10th, 2016 in Sotheby’s-Hong Kong, Lot 1661Note: Fish play an important role as symbols in Chinese thought. In Chan Buddhism many stories revolve around them that are quoted as reasons for the use of a wooden fish as a gong in monasteries to call monks and nuns to prayer and to mark other activities; in Daoism, fish are the ultimate image of a glorified freedom from restraints; and in Confucian thought they immediately evoke the scholar succeeding in the imperial exams and thus assuring success in life, like the mythical carp swimming up-river and turning into a dragon.