This piece is unusual, when compared with other Song dynasty rhytons of this type, as it does not display any archaistic decorative scrollwork that is so commonly found on such vessels. However, as Robert Kleiner observed in the catalogue entry to this piece, op. cit., p. 44, "in its general simplicity and its hint at the forces of nature, contained in the form of the tree trunk, it fits in well with the prevailing preferences in taste of the period."

Compare a taller jade libation vessel similarly carved with three chilong, illustrated by Lefebvre d'Argencé, Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, pl. XXXVII, where it is attributed to the 10th-14th century.