Grape vines first appeared as a decorative motif in cloisonné during the early 15th century. As with many of the designs used in the decoration of cloisonné, the vine can be traced to blue and white porcelain of the fourteenth century.

A similar censer of comparable decoration, size and date is illustrated by Brinker and Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné, The Pierre Uldry Collection, New York, 1989, no. 31.