Blue-and-White Bowl with Dragon and Scrolls Design, Ming Dynasty, Hongzhi Mark and Period (1488-1505), d.15.0cm. Gift of SUMITOMO Group, the ATAKA Collection. Acc. No. 10691. The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka. © 2009 The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka.

The style of this piece is a continuation of the thin, small bowls which appeared in the Chenghua reign, but the pattern has increased in complexity. The exterior of the bowl is decorated with a pair of dragons and baoxiang-hua floral scrolls, the interior is decorated with vine scrolls on the walls and a lotus pond design in the center. The patterns are drawn with fine lines, leaving little white space. The dragons' bodies, vine scrolls, and leaves and flower petals show indications of becoming formalized. In the intricate patterns around the rim and the interior center, we can see connections with the decorative motifs of the next era, the Jiajing and Wanli reigns.