The plate opens outwards, with arching walls and a round base. A white glaze provides the entire surface with an elegant, radiant finish. Written under the glaze on the bottom of the plate are the words, Made in the Qianlong Period of the Qing Dynasty, written in seal script and arranged in three rows of six characters. The colors of glaze used in the state kilns during the Qing Dynasty have some correlation with the five traditional Chinese elements (wood, fire, earth, gold, water) and their five corresponding colors (blue, red, yellow, white, black). If looked at as an instrument of worship for royal ritual, the function of the white glaze coating is to be used to hold offerings given at the Temple of the Moon.

D: 18 cm