A number of these tall, high-shouldered vases are published: one formerly from the Edward T. Chow collection, sold in Hong Kong, 19 May 1981, lot 546; a vase from the Eugene O. Perkins collection, sold in our New York Rooms, 2 June 1989, lot 90; and a pair from the T.Y. Chao collection, exhibited at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1978, Ming & Ch'ing Porcelain, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 79, one of this pair of vases is now in the S.C. Ko Tianminlou collection, and is illustrated in Blue and White Porcelains in the Collection of the Tianminlou Foundation, p. 222, no. 94.

The inspiration for this shape and pattern originates from examples produced during the early Ming period, cf. a 15th century meiping in the National Palace Museum, Taibei, illustrated in Blue and White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Book II (part 1), pl. 1; two early 15th century examples illustrated by T. Misugi, The Ardebil Shrine Collection, nos. A69 and A70; and another example sold in these Rooms, 2 November 1999, lot 650. All the earlier Ming vases have rounded sloping shoulders unlike the broad shoulder of the Qianlong examples giving the latter an appearance of a stable, fuller body.