An almost identical bottle is illustrated by Robert Hall, Chinese Snuff Bottles, Masterpieces from the Rietberg Museum Zurich, Zurich, 1993, p. 50, no. 19, where the author comments that "This is one of a small group of powerful bottles made in the eighteenth century which are characterized by their elongated pear shape, beautifully precise carving, and deep red colouring which is due to the exceptional thickness of the overlaid red layer." Other similarly carved red overlay bottles are illustrated by Bob C. Stevens, The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, New York, 1976, no. 205 and by Gerard Tsang and Hugh Moss, Snuff Bottles of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1978, p. 64, no. 54.

For a full explanation of the symbolism of the subject matter of this bottle, which in general expresses good birthday wishes, and longevity, see Hugh Moss, Victor Graham and Ka Bo Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles. The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 5, Part 2, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 522, no. 921, where a similarly carved blue overlay bottle is discussed.