During the Ming dynasty, potters created vast quantities of porcelain, often decorated with innovative techniques. Traditionally, porcelain objects were marked with the reign mark of the ruling emperor at the time. This ping was made using a technique called wucai, involving layers of painted underglaze blue and overglaze enamels.

To hear LACMA curator Stephen Little talk about Chinese porcelain, and the complexity of creating a piece like this one, press the audio play button below.