This brush-washer is an example of Ding ware, made in the Hebei province of China during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Ding wares were of the earliest true porcelains made in China, and the world. The term porcelain is applied to ceramics made from a mixture containing a clay called kaolin and a white stone called petuntse which was fired at high temperatures. Porcelains differ from other ceramics in their impermeability, whiteness and fine texture.

Ding wares were often fired sitting upside down with their weight resting on their rim. This strategy served to spread the weight of the object and to guard against any malformation of their thinly potted bodies during the firing. Because of contact between the rim and the ground of the saggar (a protective box holding ceramics during firing) the rims were often left unglazed and later covered with metal. This was not only a utilitarian solution, but regarded as a beautiful feature of Ding ware.