In regard to an array of white porcelain with phoenix design painted in underglaze cobalt- blue, this paper examines the relation between certain illustrated manuals and design patterns of craftworks for the royal court’s use. The examination is expected to shed new light on the ways in which a group of official kilns called bunwon produced the new type of white porcelain in the late Joseon period. Pictorial motifs of phoenixes, introduced via painting manuals from the Ming dynasty, made their way into the Joseon court. While the royal families put regulations on the image’s stylistic variations through illustrated manuals for design, they nevertheless encouraged its constant use. No literary evidence confirms that any court painters were sent to the bunwon since the official court kiln was settled and established in Bunwon-ri (present day Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province) in 1752—more accurately since 1754; however, the gradual increase in production of cobalt-painted white porcelain and the emergence of multiple images—which court painters most likely created for the white ware—provide circumstantial evidence that artisan painters, substituting more privileged court painters, took advantage of illustrated manuals for design for decorative patterns on white porcelain. In addition, a number of sources suggest that illustrations drawn by the King were to be transferred on blue and white porcelain, supporting the use of certain illustrated manuals. Cooperation among the official bunwon, other regional kilns, and private craftsmen could have been possible through the illustrated manuals. With the commercial and industrial growth of the late Joseon dynasty came the exploding public demand for white porcelain with cobalt-blue paintings. Its popularity is indicated by the publications Sipye and Gongpye—report of market evils, report of tribute evils—from 1753, and also by the prevalence of illegal, surreptitious production of the white wares around that time. The illustrated manuals contributed to the popularization of design patterns that had been confined within the upper class, in addition to the standardization of craftworks. The phoenix design, in particular, is thus notable as a significant example that shows the manual’s role in the production of the white porcelain from the late Joseon period.