On the present lot, different species of butterflies are depicted with great naturalism. Their wings are delicately rendered so that they appear almost translucent, with the texture of real butterfly wings. Butterflies were a favourable motif in the Qing decorative arts, as they provide a rebus which doubles any good wish and also suggests an eightieth birthday.

The unusual Yongzheng mark on this cup, with the characters inscribed in ruby and enclosed by double squares of blue enamel, is also found on several other enamelwares of this period. A yellow-ground floral dish with butterflies amidst flower sprays, inscribed with the same mark, is in the National Palace Museum, Taibei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, 1999, pl. 99.