| Vase with nine peach design | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Year | 1736-1795 |
| Type | Porcelain |
| Dimensions | 50 cm(19.5 in);37 cm diameter (14.5 in) |
| Location | Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis |
This vase with a nine peach design is part of the Chinese collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is a fine piece of Jingdezhen porcelain with overglaze (or "enamel") decoration dating from the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty, so it was made between 1736 and 1795. [1]
The six-character reign mark on the bottom of this vase ("Da Qing Qianlong nian zhi") indicates that it was made under imperial patronage. The excellent quality and large size would have made it very suitable for display in the imperial palace. The design of peach buds, blossoms, leaves and fruits appears naturalistic, but that configuration would never appear in nature. Rather, it is a sort of rebus, as is common in Chinese decorations. Peaches symbolize immortality (thanks to the goddess Xiwangmu and her peach tree that only bore fruit every three millennia) and "nine" and "a long time" are homophones, so this design represents longevity and timelessness. The artist handled the theme very skillfully, using the complex shape of the vase to make the peaches most prominent by placing them on the vase's shoulder. [2]
In the early eighteenth century, Chinese artists realized that they could create opaque colors by adding white pigment to translucent enamels. This enabled them to use the same color palette they had recently encountered in oil paintings brought to China by European traders. This discovery led to unprecedented artistic freedom and creativity. [1]
This vase was loaned to the Smithsonian Institution to be part of the exhibit "Asia in America: Chinese Art from the Indianapolis Museum of Art" that ran September 18, 2004 to March 20, 2005 in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. It was the first in a series on Asian art in American museums. [3]
Mr. and Mrs. Eli Lilly gave this vase to the Herron School of Art in 1960, and it remained with the IMA during the division of the institutions. It currently has the accession number 60.116 and is on display in the Valeria J. Medveckis Gallery. [2]
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Jingdezhen porcelain is Chinese porcelain produced in or near Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province in southern China. Jingdezhen may have produced pottery as early as the sixth century CE, though it is named after the reign name of Emperor Zhenzong, in whose reign it became a major kiln site, around 1004. By the 14th century it had become the largest centre of production of Chinese porcelain, which it has remained, increasing its dominance in subsequent centuries. From the Ming period onwards, official kilns in Jingdezhen were controlled by the emperor, making imperial porcelain in large quantity for the court and the emperor to give as gifts.
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