A model of a Chinese pleasure boat with elaborate superstructure, the hull faced with long strips of ivory; supported on a small, stepped, rectangular base, covered in patterned green and red silk. Three small, painted, clay figures sitting on the flat, projecting prow, round a doorway flanked by pillars and two scrolls of calligraphy; above the door an inscription. Inside, a room with a doorway on either side flanked by panels of latticework with ruyi-shaped panels above; beyond, a small hallway leading to an inner room with benches and the remains of a round table coloured red. On either side, on flat projections of the deck, squatting figures. On an upper deck, a railed garden, with a seated figure and eight potted plants, and behind, a small pavilion with latticed sides and a domed roof. The sides curving up below to a square stern, with openwork side panels and an overhanging back, displayed in which are three red and green painted flags in a small balustraded area with two potted plants. Further roofs sheltering the stern area and another room below.

Text adapted from Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen: Volume III.