Blue glass flecked with gold, which may have been an attempt to imitate lapis lazuli, was already being produced in the Palace workshops by the early eighteenth century.

The coppery or golden flakes of mica found in this bottle trapped within a layer of sapphire-blue glass and sandwiched between two layers of clear glass is known as biotite. It is quite possible that sandwiched glass decorated with biotite was familiar with Kilian Stumpf, the Jesuit missionary who directed the Beijing Palace workshops from 1695 until his death in 1720. This type of sandwiched glass was apparently a staple product at the Imperial glassworks, which remains a likely source for this fine bottle.