The use of stands was a practical development for the drinking of hot liquid from tea bowls without handles. In the Zu xia lu (Record of Leisurely Enjoyment) the 9th century author Li Kuangyi stated that the first bowl stands were made in the Jianzong reign (AD 780-83). However, the earliest bowl stand excavated to date comes from a Jin dynasty tomb in Changsha, Hunan province. Certainly by the Song dynasty bowl stands were very popular in both lacquer and ceramics.

Extant lacquer bowlstands from the early 15th century are very rare. Three different sizes of bowlstands appear to have been made in the 15th century (10.5 cm., 9 cm. and 8.3 cm.) and this example belonging to the rare smallest group, appears to be the only published example carved with a dragon motif. Compare, however, two larger Yongle examples, each decorated with a pair of phoenix in flight, the first in the Palace Museum collection, Beijing, illustrated in Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 44, no. 27; and another with an additional Qianlong poem, also from the Lee Family Lacquer Collection sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3 December 2008, lot 2119 (fig. 1).

Compare the carving of the dragons and cloud scrolls on the present example with a Xuande-marked circular box and cover in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 79, no. 56.