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Lot Essay
The present dish belongs to a group decorated with a total of eight peaches growing flowering branches and accompanied by five bats, forming the auspicious wufu, from the Yongzheng period. Some of these dishes bear a six-character reign marks within double-squares as in the case of the present examples, on others the marks appear within double-circles.
Peach dishes appear in four differing sizes, the present dish is second largest in size among the group, and similar to the dish in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated by P. Lam in Qing Imperial Porcelain, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995, no. 62 (21 cm.); a dish in the British Museum Collection, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World’s Great Collections, vol. 5, Kodansha series, 1981, no. 226 (20.6 cm.); a dish from the John M. Crawford, Au Bak Ling and Robert Chang collections, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 October 2003, lot 665 (20.9 cm.); a dish from the Barbara Hutton collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 2915 (21 cm.); and a pair, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 3319 (20.7 cm.).
For examples of this pattern in the largest size, see Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Kodansha series, 1980, col. pl. 63 (50.5 cm.); and in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, the Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commercial Press, 1999, p. 66, no. 56. It is interesting to note that the reign marks of the largest dishes (those over 50cm diam.) are written within double-circles, and not rectangles as with the cited smaller examples.
It is believed by many scholars that this particular design was applied to vessels made for the celebration of imperial birthdays. The composition of eight peaches and five bats is very auspicious. The eight peaches symbolise extended long life through their association Shoulao, the Star God of the Longevity, and also through association with the peaches of longevity grown in the orchard of the Queen Mother of the West. The five red bats provide rebuses both for good fortune and for the Five Blessings of longevity, health, love of virtue and a peaceful death.
Peach dishes appear in four differing sizes, the present dish is second largest in size among the group, and similar to the dish in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated by P. Lam in Qing Imperial Porcelain, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995, no. 62 (21 cm.); a dish in the British Museum Collection, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World’s Great Collections, vol. 5, Kodansha series, 1981, no. 226 (20.6 cm.); a dish from the John M. Crawford, Au Bak Ling and Robert Chang collections, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 October 2003, lot 665 (20.9 cm.); a dish from the Barbara Hutton collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 2915 (21 cm.); and a pair, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 3319 (20.7 cm.).
For examples of this pattern in the largest size, see Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Kodansha series, 1980, col. pl. 63 (50.5 cm.); and in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, the Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commercial Press, 1999, p. 66, no. 56. It is interesting to note that the reign marks of the largest dishes (those over 50cm diam.) are written within double-circles, and not rectangles as with the cited smaller examples.
It is believed by many scholars that this particular design was applied to vessels made for the celebration of imperial birthdays. The composition of eight peaches and five bats is very auspicious. The eight peaches symbolise extended long life through their association Shoulao, the Star God of the Longevity, and also through association with the peaches of longevity grown in the orchard of the Queen Mother of the West. The five red bats provide rebuses both for good fortune and for the Five Blessings of longevity, health, love of virtue and a peaceful death.