This ox-shaped vessel is an interesting object made during the Qianlong reign (1736-1795) in an antiquarian or archaic style. It is a close copy of a figure illustrated in chapter 38 of the Mirror of Antiquities, a catalogue of all the bronze vessels held in the imperial court, and compiled in 1749. This book aimed to record the whole imperial collection, and it was also used by craftsmen in the imperial workshops as a sourcebook of patterns, forms and decoration for their work. The ox-shaped figure in the catalogue is described as being a stand for some wooden structure, maybe a musical instrument, and as dating to the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907). The Qianlong copy was probably made using this illustrated book as reference; an inscription on the front side of the rectangular container reads: 'Made in imitation of the antique in the Qianlong period'.

The enamelled surface was realised in two different techniques: the green surface is in champlevé, where the underlying bronze is chiselled away and the enamel poured into it, while the details are in cloisonné, where wires soldered onto the surface serve to outline the colours. The visual effect is that of an archaic bronze, turned green due to corrosion, and inlaid with gold.