The large size of this early 15th-century flask, decorated with lotus scrolls and two striding dragons, suggests that it may have been intended for use in Iran or Turkey, where similar examples have been found. The alert dragons share the powerful form, large scales, massive head, and upturned nose characteristic of early Ming depictions. The background of lotus scrolls, however, is typical of the early Ming interest in decorative pattern rather than in the naturalism of sea and sky, which are more typically the habitat of the dragon in Chinese ceramics. The style of painting is characteristic of ceramics produced during the rule of the Yongle emperor (r. 1403-1424). Works decorated with three- or four-clawed dragons, such as this, were used at the court as gifts from the emperor to his attendants and were also presented to foreign rulers and dignitaries; images of five-clawed dragons were reserved for ceramics intended for imperial use.

The black spots found in the underglaze pigment used to paint this flask are typical of 14th- and 15th-century blue-and-white ware. They are caused by the precipitation of the cobalt into the overlying glaze during firing. Chinese scholars and connoisseurs have labeled this effect "heaped-and-piled." Also characteristic of ceramics made during this period is a slight wrinkling in the glaze, called "orange-peel," as well as the bluish tinge found in the otherwise transparent glaze.