A miniature vase like this would probably have been made to fit into a treasure box, where small items and interesting pieces in the miniature were kept and admired. Treasure boxes and their contents were popular among collectors in the 18th century.

Compare with other painted enamel version of the millefleurs in the miniature, found on snuff bottles in the Palace Museum, Beijing, collection, illustrated in Snuff Bottles, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 135, alternated with ruby landscapes, pl. 139, and pl. 152, with a multitude of fruit and flowers.