Quail are auspicious birds, because the word for quail is pronounced an in Chinese, which is a homophone for 'peace'. Two quail can be interpreted as shuang an, or 'double peace', and thus, these birds appear as pairs on paintings, porcelains and textiles, from as early as the Song dynasty.

Compare with other quail boxes of this type: a single example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo Yuqi Quanji, Hubei, 1991, vol. 6, pl. 106; a pair illustrated by Ip Yee in the exhibition catalogue, Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1983, no. 196; and two pairs sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 28 November 2006, lot 1401, and 31 May 2010, lot 2091.