Natural History, panel 13 of 18
Oil on canvas, 26” x 26”
The Sixth Voyage Of Zheng He
In the spring of 1421, the fleet again set sail for Africa to return ambassadors home and further explores the coast of Africa. Expert potter used imported Persian cobalt (brought home in large quantity by Zheng He’s fleet) to create some of the Ming Dynasty’s most popular export items to the Arab world and later on to Europe. Around this time, Sanskrit scripts and sea creature motifs begins to appear in Chinese porcelain.