This vase is made of fine porcelain painted in underglaze blue with a busy design of apparently unrelated items. In China this was called the 'hundred antiques' pattern. Although not understood in 19th-century Britain, it would have appealed to an audience interested in the exotic East. Commonly known as 'Chinese blue-and white', vases like this were used to decorate the interiors of many British homes in the 19th century.

Chinese blue-and-white had been imported into Britain since the 16th century. Although by the 1870s they were no longer rarity items, they continued to feature prominently in interior design. Rooms were filled with blue-and-white porcelain of different shapes and sizes to create a sumptuous effect. Older pieces were displayed alongside newer products.