Chinese Export silver from the early 18th century is now very rare. Dr. H. A. Crosby Forbes greatly increased the understanding of the trade in Chinese export silver, re-attributing items once thought to be English. Although it is thought quite a quantity was imported into England as part of the ship captain's prerogative to trade on their own behalf, little survives today. The trade was conducted in a similar manner to the trade in Chinese export porcelain, which was brought into the country under the special terms for private trade allowed by the East India Company. It has been suggested that ship's captains, whose annual salary was £120, could add an additional £2,000 to their yearly income through this practice. Some of the silver would have been hallmarked on arrival, such as an octagonal teapot, now in the Museum of The American China Trade, struck with London hallmarks for 1682, however much remained unmarked.

The present bowl is engraved with an intriguing inscription which suggests it did not enter England through the usual route. The inscription records that the bowl was taken from the Cathedral Church in Lima, Peru. Much of the trade with China was paid for with South American silver therefore it would appear the bowl travelled to Lima as part of a circular trade route from Asia to the Americas, rather than being sent to Europe. The second inscription, now almost completely illegible, may have recorded the gift of the bowl to the Cathedral or to a later recipient. It is possible that the bowl was taken during one of the many raids made on the Cathedral by pirates and privateers in the 18th century, drawn to the building by the multitude of jewels, silver and gold made as offerings to the saints.

It is possible the bowl and cover was acquired or given to Francis, 3rd Baron Ducie (1739-1808), a captain in George III's navy, however, it may have been bought by his son, who commissioned the matching bowl and two plinths from the goldsmiths to King George III and the Prince of Wales, later King George IV, Rundell, Bridge and Rundell. Rundells later supplied King George IV with a silver-gilt Chinese export bowl, cover and stand. Thought to date from the late 17th century, it may be the 'silver porringer, cover and plate chased over' which cost the king £47 5s with additional costs for gilding and engraving and which is illustrated in Dr. H. A. Crosby Forbes, op. cit., p. 9, fig. 8.