This exquisite piece is a rare example of a Chinese cast glass perfume container/incense burner in the shape of a dragon. The dragon has a sinuous shape, with a long neck curved to form a "S" shape, and a hollow globular body, where the wings are masterfully depicted in low relief with the feathers clearly visible. The vessel has an oval aperture, covered by a lid.
The glass is colourless and it resembles the clarity and purity of naturally occurring rock crystal.
The intensity of this type of colourless glass can be easily understood by the words of the Chinese poet Wang Shizhen, who described crystal-like colourless glass as “clear as crystal, red as flame”.