Stem-cup with dragon

This form, a new shape in its time, consists of a compact cup resting on a stem with one to three ridged bands. In this version, two bands encircle the stem. They were glazed in pale blue, white, or blue, and were sometimes decorated with mold-impressed or painted ornaments in underglaze-blue, underglaze-red, or gold. This work is decorated at the inner bottom with a chrysanthemum punctuated by a band of lotus scrolls around the rim; a dragon plays with a pearl around the outside of the cup. The grayish blue color encloses a few small patches of dark blue where the ferrous oxide in the glaze was concentrated and burst during firing. For the underglaze-blue type, pine, plum, and floral motifs were common (WW 1982.2: 26). The dragons, with either three or four claws, were accompanied inside by floral designs (WW 1984.5: 90).