Page 50 - Thornton Collection Chiense Ceramics HK Nov 2017

2808 Continued It is believed by many scholars that this particular design was applied to
vessels made for the celebration of imperial birthdays. The composition
The present dish belongs to a group decorated with a total of eight of eight peaches and five bats is very auspicious. The eight peaches
peaches growing flowering branches and accompanied by five bats, symbolise extended long life through their association Shoulao, the Star
forming the auspicious wufu, from the Yongzheng period. Some of God of the Longevity, and also through association with the peaches
these dishes bear a six-character reign marks within double-squares as of longevity grown in the orchard of the Queen Mother of the West.
in the case of the present examples, on others the marks appear within The five red bats provide rebuses both for good fortune and for the Five
double-circles. Blessings of longevity, health, love of virtue and a peaceful death.

Peach dishes appear in four differing sizes, the present dish is second 此類五蝠八桃盤的款識有雙方框六字款及雙圈框六字款兩種。尺
largest in size among the group, and similar to the dish in the 寸分四種，此盤位居第二，近似例參考：南京博物院一例（口徑21
Nanjing Museum, illustrated by P. Lam in Qing Imperial Porcelain, 公分）；大英博物館一例（口徑20.6公分）；John M. Crawford、
Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995, no. 62 (21 cm.); a dish in 區百齡及張宗憲先後遞藏一例（口徑20.9公分），2003年10月27日
the British Museum Collection, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The 於香港佳士得拍賣，拍品665號；芭芭拉．赫頓舊藏一例（口徑21
World’s Great Collections, vol. 5, Kodansha series, 1981, no. 226 (20.6 公分），2014年5月28日於香港佳士得拍賣，拍品2915號；以及一
cm.); a dish from the John M. Crawford, Au Bak Ling and Robert 對於2014年5月28日於香港佳士得拍賣，拍品3319號（口徑20.7公
Chang collections, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 October 2003, 分）。
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, 北京故宮博物院及倫敦維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館各藏一例尺寸最
sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 3319 (20.7 cm.). 大的五蝠八桃盤（口徑50.6公分、口徑50.5公分），皆書雙圈款，
與較小者書雙方框款有所區別。
For examples of this pattern in the largest size, see Far Eastern
Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Kodansha series, 1980, col. 這種從器內延伸至器外的畫面稱為「過枝花」，此畫法興起於雍正
pl. 63 (50.5 cm.); and in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in 時期。此盤紋飾有「福壽雙全」、「洪福齊天」及「五福臨門」之
Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, 祥瑞寓意，應為皇帝萬壽節而燒造。
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.

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