"The deep, rounded sides and concave top enclosing a hollow interior with circular aperture in the base, the upper surface painted with an official on a galloping horse, with a servant behind them. The scene set in a garden with a rocky landscape behind it. Some damages. Size: ca. 14 cm diameter, ca. 7,5 cm tall. Ref: Another late Ming hot-water bowl sold at Christie's Amsterdam, Sale 3017, December 2012, Lot 494 (€11.875). Warming bowls consist of a shallower upper bowl joined to a deeper lower bowl at the rim. The lower bowl has a circular hole in its base. This construction would have allowed the cavity between the two bowls to be filled with hot water, and the hole in the base of the lower bowl to be closed with a wooden or cork plug. According to a Chinese source, such bowls could also have been used in periods of rice scarcity. A full bowl would then amount to a lower amount of rice needed, but still psychologically satisfy the need to see a normal amount of food. Other warming bowls are in the collections of the Victoria and Albert museum in London, the Percival David Foundation in London, the Nanjing Museum, the Asian Art Museum in San Fransisco and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Comparative Literature: M. Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains, Percival David Foundation, London, 1963, nos. 670, 696 and A623. M. Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Ming Polychrome Wares, Percival David Foundation, London, 1966, no. 749. R. Kerr, Chinese Art and Design, London, 1991, p. 23. D. Lion-Goldschmidt, Ming Porcelain, New York, 1978, p. 101, pls 67 and 67a. "