The artist Hu Wenming was a celebrated metalworker who was active during the late 16th to early 17th century. Compare with a group of metalwork examples all bearing the Hu Wenming mark, included in the exhibition Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, nos. 73, 103, 230, 231, 237, and 246.

Compare also a similar example sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2007, lot 1653.