Casgliadau Arlein

Tripartite shell sweemeat dish, made from thickly potted, soft-paste porcelain with a bluish glaze, the three dishes in the form of scallop shells, the tripartite base formed by naturalistically modelled shells encrusted onto rock or coral formations, the handle, probably originally in the form of a univalve shell, is lost; the interior rims of the dishes are decorated with underglaze blue enamel, comprising a scalloped border from which issue stylised sun and flower pendants, the exterior of the dishes are decorated in each ridge of the shell with the motif of a scrolling flower and leaves, the underglaze enamel has bled considerably into the glaze.