Jingdezhen Qianlong-Style Famille Rose Nine-Peach Tianqiu Vase

Nine peaches ripen across two flowering branches as five red bats move through the white porcelain ground. The composition is designed to be read in the round: textured trunks rise across the globular body, leaves turn between pale and deeper greens, and the branches continue upward along the tall cylindrical neck.

The imagery carries a blessing without relying on a written inscription. Peaches evoke longevity and the legendary fruit of Xi Wangmu, the Queen Mother of the West; the number nine suggests enduring time, while five bats represent the Five Blessings. Famille rose enamels give the symbolism its life, moving from yellow-green to soft pink across the fruit and through varied greens across the leaves.

The Tianqiu form, named for its celestial-sphere profile, first appeared in the early Ming dynasty and returned on a grand scale in the eighteenth century. Qianlong-period examples of the nine-peach tradition are preserved by the Palace Museum in Beijing and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; a closely related peach-decorated Tianqiu vase is held by the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Their differing dimensions show an evolving decorative tradition rather than one fixed model.

The high-white Jingdezhen porcelain body is first glaze-fired at approximately 1300°C. Famille rose enamels are then painted over the fired glaze and returned to the kiln at approximately 700-900°C. This two-stage process produces a dense high-fired porcelain body beneath the softer pink, red, green, and brown overglaze colors.

In 2011, a Qianlong-period nine-peach Tianqiu vase from the Meiyintang Collection sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong for HK$90.3 million, approximately US$11.6 million at the time. The result confirmed the extraordinary place this design holds within Qing porcelain: a monumental vessel in which painting, auspicious symbolism, and form are inseparable.

This contemporary Jingdezhen reproduction brings that Qianlong-period tradition into three display scales. The 33 cm version concentrates the full blessing in a cabinet piece; the 39.5 cm size works naturally on a console or entry table; and the 56 cm version recovers more of the commanding presence associated with monumental Tianqiu vases. For a new home, milestone birthday, or significant family gift, few motifs combine longevity, Five Blessings, and visual abundance with equal clarity.

• Material: High-white Jingdezhen kaolin porcelain
• Origin: Jingdezhen, China
• Craft: Hand-formed porcelain body with hand-painted famille rose overglaze
• Motifs: Nine peaches, five bats, flowering rose branches, leaves, and textured trunks
• Primary firing: Approx. 1300°C / 2372°F
• Overglaze firing: Approx. 700-900°C / 1292-1652°F
• Small: 33 cm H x 22 cm belly x 8 cm mouth / 13.0 in H x 8.7 in belly x 3.1 in mouth
• Medium: 39.5 cm H x 25.5 cm belly x 12 cm mouth / 15.6 in H x 10.0 in belly x 4.7 in mouth
• Statement Large: 56 cm H x 40 cm belly x 16 cm mouth / 22.0 in H x 15.7 in belly x 6.3 in mouth
• Base mark: Decorative Qianlong-style reign mark
• Care: Dust with a soft microfiber cloth. Avoid abrasive cleaners, hard scrubbing, and prolonged water immersion.