This object was made to hold brushes used by a Chinese scholar or official for writing signing documents, or possibly a student for practicing calligraphy. Two-thirds of the surface is decorated with a raised dragon stretched across the sky and a fish poised, resting on its back on the crest of waves, a shout resonating in the air between the two, issuing from its mouth. The scene refers to a legendary fish's leap over a high waterfall and resulting transformation into a dragon.