A wucai stembowl and cover, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 6 1/8  in., 15.5 cm. Photo Sotheby's

Provenance: Collection of Duncan Beresford-Jones, Esq.
Christie's London, June 6th, 2000, lot 358.

Note: The enamels of the present piece are sparingly applied and contained to simple bands of fruiting peach boughs on the exterior. The imagery immediately evokes the celestial peach orchard of Xiwangmu and conveys wishes for longevity. The interior reinforces the sentiment with a central medallion painted with a pair of paradise flycatchers, shoudai niao, perched on blossoming peonies, all above sprigs of lingzhi forming a rebus for a long life with wealth and honor.

It is very rare to find similar examples of this type complete with covers. One with a different knop from the Grandidier Collection is illustrated in The World’s Greatest Collections: Oriental Ceramics,Musee Guimet, vol. 7, Tokyo, 1981, no. 154. An example without its cover is illustrated in Qing Imperial Porcelains of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Nanjing Museum, 1995, no. 25.

Sotheby's. Embracing Classic Chinese Culture: Kangxi Porcelain from the Jie Rui Tang Collection, New York, 14 march  2014