Dragons of the Yuan period are particularly distinctive as they often appear, most frequently on ceramics, with relatively small heads, antler-like horns, bulging eyes and long snouts. Compare with striding dragons painted on the well-known pair of 'David Vases', dated to 1351, illustrated by R. Scott, Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1989, p. 67, no. 55; and upright dragons on a 'pilgrim' flask, formerly from the Sir Harry Garner and F. Gordon Morrill collection, sold by Messrs Doyle, New York, 16 September 2003, lot 74. The necks of these mythical creatures are characteristically narrow and their bodies widen between the fore and hind legs. As these mythical creatures are portrayed with their mouths agape exposing protruding tongues, their expressions are often lively and quizzical. As well as dragons painted on the ceramic examples cited above compare also those depicted on Song and Yuan textiles. Cf. the dragon embroidered on a costume of a Buddhist guardian figure, in the Museum of History, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, textiles, vol. 7, 1987, p. 21, no. 22; and also on a kesi dated to the Northern Song dynasty, illustrated in Possessing the Past - Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, New York, 1996, p. 250, pl. 128.