Note: Both inscriptions on the reverse of the dishes refer to the scenes painted on the other side of the dishes. The inscription on the reverse of the left dish may be translated as 'Ease of reading by the window with [a view of] banana trees' while the inscription on the reverse of the other dish may be translated as 'Washing the inkstone'.

This pair of dishes may be part of a larger set as another pair of very similarly decorated dishes formerly in the Grandidier Collection and now in the Musee Guimet in Paris suggests, collection nos. G929 and G930. Like the present pair, they are decorated with an anhua design of dragons on the well and with a circular scene in the centre of the dish, complemented by an inscription with one or two seals on the reverse. The Guimet examples are dated to the Hongzhi period (1488-1505) of the Ming dynasty and it is stated that the enamelled designs were added in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty.