Pair, Qing Dynasty Chinese Canton Enamel 'Peach' Cups and Saucers

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A fine pair of Chinese Canton painted enamel peach-form cups and saucers, Qing dynasty, likely 19th century, each worked in … Read more A fine pair of Chinese Canton painted enamel peach-form cups and saucers, Qing dynasty, likely 19th century, each worked in polychrome enamel over a copper body and presented on later fitted carved wood stands. The saucers are modeled as flattened peaches with scalloped naturalistic rims, turquoise leaf-form borders, branch-form handles, and brightly enameled interiors in green, white, and rose-pink tones. The painted decoration includes stylized bats and auspicious fungus-like motifs, set against a textured ground that recalls famille-rose enamel coloring.

The cups repeat the same peach-form vocabulary in miniature, with rounded fruit-shaped bodies, leaf supports, and branch-form handles. The combination of peach, bat, and lingzhi or ruyi-like ornament belongs to a deeply auspicious Chinese decorative language: the peach traditionally signifies longevity, while the bat, pronounced fu, is a rebus for happiness or blessings. Museum and auction comparables record Qing peach-form cups and saucers in jade, porcelain, and painted enamel, including Canton enamel examples decorated with bats and fruiting branches.

Although inspired by earlier imperial painted-enamel traditions of the Kangxi and Yongzheng periods, this pair is best cataloged as Canton enamel, probably made for domestic elite use or export taste during the late Qing period. The lively palette, playful asymmetrical peach silhouette, thin metal outlines, and decorative wood presentation stands give the group strong appeal as Chinese export decorative arts, Qing enamel table objects, peach-form cups and saucers, and longevity-symbol works.

Measurements: 5.625" w x 4.5" d plates; 3" d x 2.125" w x 1.5" h cup. See less