Small bowl with hidden decoration of dragons

This piece, with hidden decorations that are observable only when viewed against the light, exemplifies the imitation of "sweet-white glazed" eggshell-thin bodied wares of the Yongle period. The eggshell thinness of the body covered with a smooth, lustrous glaze indicates the potter's marvelous technical skill. Bowls of this shape are evident in Yongle white-glazed productions, though with neither the decoration nor the inscription. A unique Yongle white-glazed stemcup, with the seal script mark, found at the site at Jingdezhen, is decorated with hidden lotus petals surrounding the mark, but the designs on its sides cannot be recognized. Judging by the inscription on this one, which is much stiffer than on the Yongle era piece, and from its lighter body with clear decor, this piece is considered to have been made by the Yongzheng shop (Urban Council 1989: 41-2, 85, 115). The mark reads Yongle nianzhi ("produced during the Yongle period").