The present lot belongs to a distinctive group of mid-Qing snuff bottles made of white nephrite which use the natural and usually brilliant russet-brown skin of pebbles as their main decoration; see for example, Snuff Bottles. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, pl. 210. There are also a few examples with secondary carved designs on the plain side (such as the example illustrated ibid., pl. 209), but none that are as unique or as effective as the decoration on the present bottle, where the elegant meiping form is greatly enhanced by the relief carving.

The texturing of the skin is characteristic of this material with its thin, rich, patterned yellowish-russet color. However, the way the skin has been utilized on this bottle, continuing onto the matching cover, its translucency and dappled texture, make this a particularly striking example from the group.

The style of carving is more late than mid-Qing. The composition of the figures is distinctly European in feeling. The central figure is undoubtedly that of Guanyin. However, the Goddess of Mercy is rarely seen holding a child, in a pose influenced by Christian iconography of the Madonna and Child.