AN IMPERIAL YELLOW GLAZED PEACH-FORM WATER DROPPER, QING DYNASTY China, 1644-1912. Neatly potted in the form of a large, Imperial yellow-glazed peach supported on three short feet, borne on a leafy gnarled stem issuing a tiny naturalistically-glazed peach, a small bat of the same color perched close to the spout.

Provenance: From an old private collection in Munich, Germany.
Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear.

Weight: 310.5 g
Dimensions: Height 7.4 cm

In China, the bat is an important and highly auspicious symbol. The words for 'bat' and 'happiness' are pronounced in the same way, fu, and so bats appear on Chinese porcelains as a rebus or visual pun suggesting a wish for happiness. Since peaches symbolize long life, peaches and bats together, as found on the present water dropper, represent a wish for 'happiness and long life'.


清代御製黃釉桃形硯滴
中國，1644-1912年。硯滴取壽桃為形，枝葉依附為飾，桃內中空，桃尖和枝幹開圓孔，通體施黃釉，釉面溫潤，桃葉為綠色。枝葉之間還有一個小桃子，桃尖開孔附近有一隻紅色小蝙蝠。

來源：德國慕尼黑私人老收藏。
品相：品相極好， 輕微磨損。

重量：310.5 克
尺寸：高7.4 厘米

在中國，蝙蝠有著吉祥的寓意。“蝠”和“福”同音，因此蝙蝠經常出現在瓷器上，寓意幸福。桃子像徵著長壽，所以，這個硯滴上的桃子和蝙蝠一起代表了對“幸福和長壽”的願望。