Imperial yellow was not a preference. Qing sumptuary law reserved 明黄 for the emperor, so a Jingdezhen bowl poured inside and out with the iron-antimony glaze was a legal instrument as much as a vessel — one colour, no escape from it.

The design logic follows: the yellow is the page, not an accent. Dragons are cut into the white body before glazing and survive only as relief, readable by tone. The single thing allowed to sit on top is iron-red enamel with gilt, and it occupies very little of the field.