The present vase is of distinctive shape, design and quality. During the Kangxi period new shapes were introduced including the rouleaux and Yenyen vases. The Yenyen vase differs from its transitional predecessor in that it has a more balanced and less elongated form. Three border bands, one on the rim and foot, the third at the base of the neck is common on such vases, dividing two scenes of a same subject matter.
Famille-verte, sometimes known as wucai, sees further sophistication during the Kangxi reign with added variety in shapes and design. The Kangxi Emperor was less intrigued by archaism than his successors, many designs during this period came from woodblock prints inspired by Ming novels such as 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' and 'Romance of the Western Chamber', presented in panels. Examples of Yenyen vases with naturalistic rendering of a continuous landscape are rare, and this present vase with scenes from nature adheres closely to realism, with alluring measure and restraint.
See an example of very similar shape and quality from the Palace Museum, Beijing, but with lotus flowers, illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, Qing porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Forbidden City Publishing House, 1989, p.53, pl.36, described as a 'phoenix-tail'-shaped zun. Compare also a vase of this form with related decoration in the Umezawa Kinenkan, Tokyo, illustrated in Nakano, The Panoramic Views of Chinese Patterns, 1985, pl. 142.