This example is an almost precise mirror version of a bottle illustrated by John Ford, Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Edward Choate O'Dell Collection, Catalogue, 1982, p. 52, no. 103, and p. 75, no. 103, exhibited at The Asia House Gallery, New York. The obvious difference, however is the script which reads left to right. The script is translated as 'Sparse foliage gently reveals the thorns. Profuse blossoms gingerly hide the branches'. For another bottle depicting flowers and rockwork beneath a poetic inscription and similar neck decoration, possibly by Wang Xisan, see Sotheby's, London, Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles, April 24, 1989, lot 391

Ye Benqi was a member of a family of four, best known for their skills at painting inside snuff bottles. According to Robert W.L. Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Mary and George Block, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 23, no. 20, Hugh Moss learned in an interview with Ye Bengqi in Beijing in 1974 that the brothers used to visit the Beijing Museum and memorize the patterns depicted on the authentic glass bottles and wares on display. They would then attempt to re-create them. The results were technically brilliant. However, a comparison of the glass and enameling style soon reveals the differences. Yeh family bottles are meticulous to a fault but lack the vigor and freedom associated with 18th century originals. The enamels are more opaque in the copies and the glass itself lacks the pitting commonly found on the precursors. For another discussion of this group see Hugh Moss, Victor Graham, and Ka Bo Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, The J & J Collection, vol. I, New York, 1993, pp. 352-353, no. 205