Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries

I believe I have what may be a rare piece from the Qing period based on what I interpret as the Daoguang peach symbol marking and the bats decorating the exterior. I saw the first peach symbol on Gotheborg but have seen other variations online since searching specifically for that mark. Can anyone confirm?





Link :Marks on Chinese Porcelain

According to the Mainland-published Chinese-language "Record of Markings on Historic Chinese Porcelains" (Zhongguo Lidai Taoci Kuanzhi Dadian), the Bat & Peach mark was used from the Daoguang to Guangxu periods, and I would add probably later as well. There's something about the pattern on your dish that doesn't quite look right for either the Daoguang or Guangxu eras, including what appears to be a Dragon contending with a horse (unless it's a happy homonymic pairing I've missed). I've included the examples of these marks from the aforementioned publication. None seem to be exact matches for yours, which may not be telling by itself. So let's see what others have to say.

Best regards,

Bill H.

I can answer one of my own questions. There is a Chinese idiom, "Long-Ma Jingsheng" (龍馬精神), literally "As spirited as a dragon or horse", meaning "Great vitality in old age". Obviously inapplicable in the case of my memory, but I still feel that this dish may not be Daoguang period.

Bill H.

Thank you so much for the information and the assessment. I will update the thread if I find out anything else. I plan to have a formal appraisal completed.

I've been a little more research since my initial response. I want to know as much as I can about the plates (I have 2). I haven't found any other peach symbols that are an exact match, in fact, they all seem to vary. I have found a bat that has wings that are similar to the "wings" on the peach symbol of my plates. It also seems like the clouds and dragon are consistent with the Guangxu era. I'm completely new to this so it is all very exciting for me. I can hardly get any work done.

URL Title :Cambi Chinese Works of Art

Sounds like you have the right attitude. FYI, the link you left seems not to work. Perhaps it is too long for the forum link. You might try pasting it into your next post so it can be copied into a browser.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Here is the url for the initial link that failed: http://gotheborg.com/marks/20thcenturychina.shtml#daoguang. I was told that the mark may be an "Kangxi auspicious symbol". Does anyone agree? I can't find any Kangxi symbol or mark that is similar.

I don't recall any Kangxi base-marks featuring a bat, and my Chinese-language book of historical porcelain markings appears not to show one either. This doesn't mean there isn't one out there somewhere. Bats have been symbols of good luck in China for all of its recorded history, and they are ubiquitous icons in Chinese porcelain and other decorative media. Nobody owns the patent on them.

For comparison with the mark on your dish, here's an overglaze iron red mark on a 5.75-inch semi-eggshell saucer dish with a fine enough quality of decoration to be of the Daoguang period.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Thank you for the additional information! The saucer you posted is beautiful. The mark appears to be a bat and peach, similar to the one on my plate but much more defined.

Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries |