The use of alternating thin black, red and brown lacquer layers is particularly successful in this instance and creates a greater depth in the floral design. Compare with two other dishes dated to the Song period from the same collection, illustrated by Lee Yu-kuan, Chinese Lacquer Art, 1972, p. 100, no. 39, for a dish with ten layers of alternating red and yellow lacquer; and p. 103, no. 41, with ten layers of lacquer covered by an eleventh layer of brownish black on the outside.