Dimensions: Height: 4 cm, Diam.: 8.3 cm Chinese Ming Dynasty Chenghua Doucai Chicken Motif Porcelain bowl. The bowl has an open mouth, round lip rim, thick, deep arced body, raised with round foot ring and slight concave. Hand painted ornamentations are rendered in clean white base color which contrast against doucai design color, depicted of many chicken on the field surround green grass, flowers and foliage. The cockerel or rooster is an honored creature in China. It is one of the twelve animals forming the Chinese zodiac. Out of reverence, the cockerel in contrast to hens, was not killed for meat. Cockerels are valued for working hard to eat up insect pests. They are seen as fierce-some, wise, courageous, benevolent and loyal. It is lucky because it sounds the same as auspicious, lucky. A picture of a cock crowing symbolizes achievement. The Under-base bears a reign mark, a four under glazed blue script characters reign mark, enclosed within double fine blue rectangles lines. Made in The Years Chenghua Reign Period of The Great Ming Dynasty.