The design is taken from early 15th-century prototypes, such as the small rounded bowl with Xuande mark, included in the Exhibition of Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande Periods Excavated from the Site of the Ming Imperial Factory at Jingdezhen, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1989, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 75. The motif, however, is more often found on stembowls.

A slightly larger Yongzheng bowl of this design was sold in these Rooms, 31 October 2000, lot 892; another larger version is illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 15, pl. 39; and a smaller bowl from the Nanjing Museum, was included in the exhibition, Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 49.