The jar is decorated with lions and floral scrolls in the wucai style, which sees elements of the design painted in underglaze blue and combined with patterns executed in overglaze polychrome enamels. Although the term wucai literally means ‘five colours’, it actually denotes the use of a multitude of colours and does not always necessarily mean five. Wucai porcelain emerged during the sixteenth century and grew in popularity from the Jiajing period (1522–1566).
