This bottle belongs to a series of entwined fish bottles discussed in Moss et. al., The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle, no. 158; see also the footnote to lot 813 in this sale. The treatment of the fish bears a similarity to the style associated with Suzhou, and it is possible this bottle was made at one of the workshops in that town. This bottle is an unusual example incorporating black jade, and one of the more deeply carved of the group.

The image of large carp (da liyu) is a pun on the expression 'big profit' (da li).