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I have a footed 14" rose medallion punch bowl with beautiful enameling and gilding...seems quite well done. However, the center medallion in the bowl has a yellow background and a symbol of some sort and there are several pentagram-like symbols separating the medallions, which i have never seen. Also, the Greek key pattern is prevalent. Any help with the type or name of this pattern or variation of rose medallion or famille rose...as well as an estimation of the time period when it was created would be appreciated. The base has a faded red square that is worn and unintelligible.

Your decorative ceramic bowl has transfer-printed decoration and a degraded apocryphal base-mark of "Made during the Qianlong Reign" (乾隆年製 - Qianlong nian zhi). At the top of the rim, as shown, is what looks like a character reading "zhi" (制 - "made" (a variant form of "製"), with another like it to the lower right of the base-mark. Opposite the 2nd "zhi", at the lower left of the Qianlong mark, is a simplified character reading "yun" (云 - cloud"). Other doodles don't make sense to me.

If anything on the base has connotations in divination rites, you'll need someone else to explain what. The bowl is a typical product of porcelain ornamentation factories in Hong Kong and Macao, probably produced in the third quarter of the 20th century.

Best regards,

Bill H.

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