The monkey is one of the twelve Zodiac animals and is associated with a mischievous character. The image of a monkey holding a peach can be traced to an episode in Journey to the West, where the Monkey King steals a peach of immortality from Xiwangmu's orchard, causing turmoil in the celestial court.

The material used for this bottle is also known as 'bloodstone'. The artist has placed the monkey, with the typically quizzical expression and elongated nose, on a simple rock setting, while the natural markings in the stone subtly suggest a full landscape background. The stark use of the relief colour is highly effective, giving the monkey great presence in his foreground position. The image of the monkey, seeming to leap from the surface, is enhanced by the red colour of the stone, while the green ground visually appears to recede.

For a discussion of the Official School of hard-stone carving, see Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, Volume 2, Quartz, no. 258, where the many subsequent examples are all of the school.