My mother was given this Chinese fish bowl years ago as a birthday gift from her mother.
Isn't the pattern beautiful?
Look at the painted fish on the inside (birds-eye-view).
Originally, Chinese fish bowls were truly used as the name implies. A symbol of wealth in China, colorful carp were considered a showy "pet" which were kept in the fancy porcelain bowls. Over the years, though, Chinese fish bowls were replaced by glass bowls and aquariums and now these pretty vessels are purely decorative.
My parents have always utilized Mother's fish bowl as a plant stand and recently decided to replace the faux plant that was in it with something else for a fresh, new look. She envisioned something lower, light and airy and we found just that at Michaels on sale.
I offered to bring home everything to work on it.
It's always nice to be able to give a treasured piece a new look!