There is no doubt that these vases formed part of the distinctively European 'special commision' range of vessels which have not currently been attributed to a particular source. However, it has been suggested, though not proven, that this design is by the Dutch draughtsman Cornelis Pronk. Certainly the distinct combination of colors can be found in the Pronk repertoire, just as the shapes can. The cherry sprays held in the parrot's claws are not unlike those seen in the border design of a dish of 1740, illustrated by C. J. A. Jorg, Pronk Porcelain, p. 80, pl. IX and X, nos. 49 & 50. The more well- known design of the so-called 'Four Doctors' also depicts a parrot in the tree branches above them, op. cit., p. 77, pl. VIII, no. 44

Two identical vases were sold Christie's, London, November 13, 1984, lot 799; and three more were sold in the same saleroom, November 17, 1986, lot 386. A bowl of the same design from the Martin-Hurst Collection is illustrated by Williamson, The Book of Famille Rose, pl. XLII. For another design of a 'parrot' vase, perhaps bearing even closer resemblance to designs by Pronk, see A. du Boulay, Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, p. 263, no. 11