Qing Dynasty, signed Shi Mei|The dish sturdily potted from a dark brown clay and covered in a thick, greyish crackle glaze to the interior and base, the exterior delicately incised with blossoming gnarled branches of prunus beside a poetic couplet, bearing signature; together with an ingot-shaped bowl also of dark brown clay and crackle-glazed interior, with incised landscape and calligraphy, the base with an impressed seal mark.|The dish: 19cm (7 1/2in) diam. (2).|Shi Mei is the designation or hao of Zhu Jian, a scholar and carver who was active during the Jiaqing/Daoguang period (1976 - 1850) and wrote the book Hushi, History of Teapots. Zhu is said to be the first artist who invented the pewter-cased teapot and was skilled at carving and inscribing pottery, bamboo, hard stone, copper or pewter by using his steel knife.A very similar dish, also signed Shi Mei, was offered in our Hong Kong rooms as part of a lot of three, 26 May 2013, lot 407.