White-glazed dish with faintly incised sacred lotus sprays

This is a large, round and deep dish with a slightly flaring mouthrim and a short double footring. The double footring was especially popular on some vases, dishes and jars made in the Jingdezhen during the early Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty. Its exterior and interior are white glazed and decorated with faintly incised sacred lotus sprays. Large crackles can be seen on the exterior. The petals of each sacred lotus are in the shape of the lingzhi fungus. The lotus is a symbol of purity and integrity. It is also one of the eight precious Buddhist things. The lotus comes out of the mud but remains itself unstained. It is inwardly empty yet outwardly upright. It has no branches (no family/offspring) yet smells sweet. The Lingzhi fungus is an ingredient of the elixir of immortality and thus, a symbol of longevity. It resembles the ruyi (as you wish) scepter, or wish-fulfilling wand, popular in later Ming and early Qing art. The double footring is primarily covered with a white glaze as well and some large crackles. The border between the inner and outer ring is unglazed and thus exposes the buff body. In the center there is a reign mark, da qing kang xi nian zhi (Made during the Kangxi Reign of the Great Qing) in underglaze blue, standard script and two columns within an underglaze blue double-circle ring. When taking a close look, the Kangxi reign mark is evidently written in hollow lines, a practice frequently adopted on later replicas of the 19th century