The painting shows a large porcelain kiln in the background and two sheds for stacking and drying porcelain in the foreground. In between we see several porcelain carriers with large baskets suspending from both ends of a rod balancing on the shoulders.
This type of kiln is known as a 'dragon' kiln, which was built at Jingdezhen, the most famous centre for porcelain production in China. The kiln was built out of various chambers in brick and placed one behind another on a slope. The openings would be sealed with bricks during the firing process and pulled down when ready. These 'dragon' kilns could be up to 15 meters long and 4.5 meters high enabling the firing of about 20.000 pieces at a time.