The subject of this large lacquer dish, children at play in a garden, follows Chinese Song-dynasty (960–1279) tradition. As elegantly dressed ladies, who wear Song-style gowns, watch, a group of children play in a lovely garden. While some boys hide within the decorative rock and others bathe in a basin, a child in the lower right is dressed up as a gentleman at leisure, being helped to his feet by two other boys and followed by another holding a parasol. The central boy sports a type of tall hat made fashionable in the Song period by Su Shi (1036–1101), the most admired poet-official of his generation and a figure beloved by later Chinese poets and writers. The theme of children at play expresses the wish for offspring and the joy they bring.

This platter was made by applying dozens of thin layers of liquid lacquer, colored by adding red cinnabar, to a wooden base. Once completely dried, the craftsman carved into the lacquer pile to create the design. The carving on this platter is in Yuan-dynasty style and shows three-dimensional images in relief. The size of the dish also supports a 14th-century date, as there are no known lacquer or ceramic dishes of this size from the Song period, but there are a great number of large porcelain dishes dating from the same period.