Mr Kumasaku Tomita (1872-1953) was an influential figure in the world of Chinese and Japanese art at the beginning of the 20th century. He joined the famous Yamanaka Shokai dealership in London in 1903 and went on to head their London branch. Mr Tomita worked with many great collectors of the time including Sir Percival David and Alfred Baur.

The present covered bowl designed with unusual winged dragons is a continuation of those produced in the Kangxi period, such as the unmarked example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi Yongzheng Qianlong Hong Kong, 1989, p. 84, no. 67.

Cf. a single covered stembowl of this design in the Baur Collection, possibly the pair to this example, illustrated by J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, volume 2, Geneva, 1999, pl. 245; and to one in Taiwan included in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum: Ch'ien-lung Ware and Other Wares, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 25. A pair of stembowls of this pattern sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1 November 1999, lot 373; another pair sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 October 2003, lot 639.