Bowl

Bowl with contracted mouth, in the form of a Buddhist begging-bowl; 'soft paste' porcelain painted in dark blue with the eighteen Arhats, Ho Shang in the centre. Copper collar on the mouth rim, which is unglazed. Rounded bottom. Bowls of this form, copying the alms-bowl carried by a Buddhist priest, were used to hold the black and white pieces in the game of draughts.