It is clear from the five-clawed dragon motif that this blue and white porcelain jardiniere came from the royal kilns, whose manufactures furnished the Imperial court. On its base is further confirmation,  a six-character reign-mark in seal script: Da Qing Qianlong nian zhi (‘Made in the reign of the Qianlong emperor of the Great Qing’). The gift inventory describes two pieces as, ‘large blue dragon porcelain jars, two pieces’. The second jar was recorded in Christie’s 1819 sale catalogue of the ‘Oriental Curiosities and Porcelain’ of Queen Charlotte as, ‘an extra large bowl, with a dragon and clouds, blue pencilled with gold, on white ground.’