Cameo glass made by Stevens and Williams followed the same Islamic and Oriental styles that influenced this English firm's rock-crystal cut glass (see 98.2.6). According to family tradition, the engraver Joshua Hodgetts had access to an important local collection of Oriental art. Some of his vases are entirely wheel-cut, without the use of acid to speed the process. Hodgetts referred to the design of this vase as "Nara Glass Raised Decoration/Black Decoration on White Ground." This suggests that the object is related to Nara-period art, named after Japan's capital city in the eighth century. However, the design more closely resembles Chinese Qing porcelain of the 18th century.