Chinese Pitcher with Dragon Spout

The dragon on the spout is mid-sentence. The one on the handle is listening.

This pitcher with dragon spout comes from Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, China, and dates to the 19th century. It is porcelain. Jingdezhen has been China's great porcelain town for roughly a thousand years, and its potters often revisited older shapes and pale glazes from earlier dynasties. A scaly dragon forms the spout, jaws open, while a second climbs the shoulder and arches over to make the handle. The rounded body is carved with loose, layered leaf scrolls under a pale blue-white glaze, and three stubby animal feet hold it up. It is 8 inches wide and 7.5 high.

Pouring from it feels like asking permission.