There are apparently records of the Yongle emperor commissioning tile floors for temples which were still unfinished by circa AD 1430, so it is possible that these tiles are the product of a building project still incomplete in the Zhengtong period, but entering the final stages including laying the floors.

Porcelain was used on a number of occasions in the early Ming period as an essential element of architectural design.

An identical tile sold in these Rooms, 1 October 1991, lot 747