The black pigment used here for the beak, eye and legs of the crane is probably oxidized cobalt, the same material used to produce underglaze-blue decoration on white porcelains but oxidized to black because of the lack of a glaze covering to keep the oxygen out of the pigment during firing. It appears to have been first used as an alternative decorative technique on biscuit porcelain in the Daoguang period. Compare the use of the black pigment with that on another snuff bottle where black highlights the official hats of a group of immortals and luohan, illustrated by Bob C. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, no. 274.

Chen Guozhi was one of the finest of a small group of independent ceramicists of the mid-19th century who began to emerge from the traditionally anonymous production of ceramics at Jingdezhen, by signing their names, developing distinctive styles and acquiring fame. For another bottle signed by Chen Guozhi, covered with an enamel to imitate jadeite, see Robert Kleiner, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of John Ault, no. 153. The design of a crane and pine trees expresses a wish for longevity. This composition is often found on bottles by Wang Bingrong, examples of which are well known; see Bob C. Stevens, op. cit., nos. 290 and 291; and JICSBS, June 1976, p. 11, no. 17.