Blue-and-white Porcelain Dish with Dragon Design and Inscription: “Made in the Reign of Xianfeng Emperor”
With its lavish decoration, new motifs, and unusual shape, this dish demonstrates some of the production trends that affected Joseon white porcelain around the mid-nineteenth century. An inscription rendered in cobalt pigment on the bottom of the dish reads “made during the Hampung years,” where “Hampung” refers to the Xianfeng Emperor, who ruled the Qing Dynasty from 1850 to 1861. The dragon design and secondary patterns on this dish are more dense and resplendent than those of most Joseon vessels from previous eras, and it also has a unique shape, with sixteen angled sides.