Height .5 in., Width 5.25 in., Depth 5.25 in. Weight 4.5 oz. This small Chinese blue and white porcelain dish is decorated in the center with two boldly painted fish among aquatic elements including water weeds and stylized waves within a double line border, the energetic and spontaneous brushwork in strong cobalt blue on a celadon-tinged white ground characteristic of the southern Chinese export kilns known in the West as Swatow or Zhangzhou ware. The unglazed sandy buff rim -- one of the most diagnostic features of Swatow ware, resulting from the method of stacking dishes in the kiln on their rims during firing -- confirms the attribution to the Zhangzhou kilns of Fujian province, which produced large quantities of blue and white export porcelain for the Southeast Asian market and beyond during the late Ming and early Qing periods, roughly 1575 to the mid-18th century. The double fish motif is an auspicious symbol in Chinese culture representing abundance, marital harmony and good fortune -- a particularly appropriate subject for export wares intended to appeal to both Chinese and Southeast Asian buyers. The drawing has the characteristic spontaneity of Swatow ware noted by scholars -- bolder and more freely executed than the refined court wares of Jingdezhen -- with the fish rendered in rapid confident strokes that give the composition great vitality. Condition is good with the glaze intact and decoration vivid, some kiln firing imperfections consistent with Swatow production and age appropriate wear to the unglazed rim.