This is a hand-painted Chinese Ming dynasty blue-and-white porcelain jar or small vase, complete with a hand-carved hardwood stand. The seller dates the porcelain jar to approximately the mid-17th century, during the Ming dynasty, although it may possibly be earlier. Before the Ming dynasty, China was ruled by the Yuan dynasty, founded by the Mongols. The Mongols were traditionally a horseback and nomadic people who often lived in tents and commonly sat close to the ground. It has sometimes been suggested that vessels with relatively flat bases and no pronounced foot rim were well suited to this way of life, as wine jars, food containers and other vessels could be placed directly on the ground with greater stability. During the Hongwu period, under Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, prolonged warfare had only recently come to an end, and society and handicraft production were still recovering. Early Ming porcelain continued to preserve certain Yuan-dynasty traditions in its form, body, glaze, painting techniques and methods of manufacture. As a result, some late Yuan and early Ming folk-kiln wares display clear transitional characteristics. The hardwood stand is probably of a later date and may have been made during the 18th or early 19th century. The jar is decorated in varying shades of underglaze blue beneath a glaze of muted slate-blue tone with a slight greyish cast. Its decoration consists primarily of floral motifs, together with blue circular bands above the base and around the shoulder and neck. The base is unglazed. The hand-carved hardwood stand displays fine decorative detail. The porcelain jar itself has no visible damage and no restoration and remains in very good overall condition. One foot of the hardwood stand had old damage and has been repaired. There is also minor wear consistent with age and normal use. Dimensions * Porcelain jar: approximately 8.89 cm high and 6.99 cm in diameter * Hardwood stand: approximately 6.68 cm in diameter * Overall height with stand: approximately 12.07 cm * Overall maximum diameter: approximately 6.99 cm The precise height of the hardwood stand is not fully visible in the original listing and has therefore not been stated separately.