Narcisse Vivien is recorded as a meticulous painter of birds, often in association with platinum grounds. His work was exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1878. The unusually large scale of the present work suggests it was likely intended for an Exposition or was perhaps a special commission.

Few factories could have produced such an immense opaline glass panel, and Baccarat is the natural assumed manufacturer due to its mastery of the medium and the fact that Vivien's signature is found on other Baccarat works. For a pair of Baccarat vases signed with Vivien's initials (NV), see Sotheby's, New York, 21 October 2020, lot 281. Also compare the large pair of ceramic plaques by Vivien, sold Christie's, New York, 20-21 April 2005, lot 401.