Chinese Vase with 9 Peaches in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, August 2023

清乾隆 景德鎮窯粉彩九桃天球瓶

Title: Vase with nine peaches

Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong mark and period (1736–95)

Date: mid-18th century

Culture: China

Medium: Porcelain painted in overglaze polychrome enamels (Jingdezhen ware)

Dimensions: H. 20 1/8 in. (51.1 cm); Diam. 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm)
Diam. of rim: 4 5/8 in. (11.7 cm)
Diam. of foot: 7 in. (17.8 cm)

Classification: Ceramics

Credit Line: Mr. and Mrs. Isaac D. Fletcher Collection, Bequest of Isaac D. Fletcher, 1917

Accession Number: 17.120.193

Featuring a range of opaque and transparent colors, this vase boasts a complex composition of nine peaches, an auspicious motif expressing a wish for longevity. This design was also used in enameled porcelain produced under the preceding Yongzheng period (1723–35). In this new iteration, the branches and leaves are shown in a denser array, the color of the peaches is brighter, and the number of fruits was often increased from eight to nine.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/53774