A LARGE FAMILLE ROSE 'NINE PEACH' BOTTLE VASE

19TH CENTURY

Details

A LARGE FAMILLE ROSE 'NINE PEACH' BOTTLE VASE
19TH CENTURY
The vase is decorated with the spreading branches of a fruiting peach tree bearing nine large peaches and numerous white and pink blossoms, the graceful leaves painted in blue-green on the top and yellow green on the underside. An apocryphal Qianlong seal mark is on the base.
21 in. (53.3 cm.) high

Provenance

Christie's New York, 29 March 2006, lot 546.
The Studio of the Clear Garden.

Lot Essay

Peaches have traditionally been associated with Daoism and longevity. In mythology, the goddess Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, owned a vast peach orchard, and it was said that anyone who ate the fruit would become immortal. As such, peaches are considered sacred and auspicious, and when used as a decorative motif, convey wishes for longevity and good fortune. Vessels decorated with luxuriant peach branches were very popular in the Qing dynasty, and might have been commissioned as birthday gifts or as a form of commemoration for an imperial birthday.

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