QING DYNASTY (1644-1911)

The form of this elegant water pot modelled as two peaches attached to a branch with a peach stone inside the open fruit was carefully chosen both for its symbolic meaning and as a demonstration of technical ingenuity. Peach trees have a sacred connotation in China and in ancient times the wood of the peach tree was used as a charm against evil. Thus, the branch of this water pot serves both as a representation of the tree, and as a naturalistic feature joining the two peaches. The peaches themselves are symbols of longevity, and the fact of there being two of these fruit doubles the wish. The association of peaches with longevity arises from the fact of their being symbols of the Star God of Longevity Shou Lao, and linked with the legend of the peaches which grew in the orchard of Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West. These latter peaches took three thousand years to ripen, but conveyed immortality on anyone who ate them. Items decorated with or in the form of peaches were a popular birthday gift in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Small items for the scholar's table in the form of a single peach or two peaches, were especially popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. Another similar yixing double peach-form water pot was in the Robert Blumenfield collection and sold at Christie's New York in Auspicious Treasures from the Blumenfield Collection, 22 March 2012, lot 1253.