China, 1821-1850. Superbly enameled with a peach tree growing amidst blue-green rocks and colorful lingzhi fungi, bearing nine peaches amidst two-color leaves and pink blossoms, with iron-red bats swooping amidst the branches, all between multi-colored ruyi borders. The recessed base with an iron-red six-character seal mark da Qing Daoguang nianzhi and of the period.

Provenance: A private collector from Zagreb, Croatia, by repute acquired in Sweden circa 1980.
Condition: V-shaped section of neck (approx. 6 x 7 cm) reattached, some old touchups to this area. Minimal glaze flakes and wear. One hairline across the base, probably from firing. All well visible on additional images online at www.zacke.at.

Weight: 1,668 g
Dimensions: Height 30 cm

The slightly spreading foot with a key-fret band, the interior of the neck and the base in turquoise enamel, the rim gilt.

Large globular bottle vases decorated with fruiting branches of peaches were produced during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, based on a Kangxi pattern developed in the imperial enameling workshops of the Forbidden City. Those in the Yongzheng period depicted eight peaches, while those of Qianlong date depicted nine. This Daoguang vase therefore follows the Qianlong tradition.

Numerous popular stories have developed over the centuries linking peaches to endless bliss. Tao Qian (365-427) tells of a fisherman, who through a crevice in a rock followed the course of a stream to a peach orchard, 'Peach Blossom Spring', where he discovered a paradisical world. In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms the three main protagonists are swearing an oath of brotherhood in a peach orchard. Peaches bestowing immortality are said to grow in the garden of Xi Wang Mu, the Queen Mother of the West, taking three thousand years to flower and the same time again to bear fruit. Due to their magical powers these peaches are said to have been repeatedly stolen, first by the clever Han dynasty scholar Dongfang Shuo, who thus turned immortal, and later by the scheming monkey Sun Wukong, hero of the novel Journey to the West, who in the 7th century is supposed to have accompanied the monk Xuanzang on his trip to India in search of Buddhist scriptures.

Literature comparison: Compare two closely related Daoguang mark and period vases, one in the Huaihaitang Collection, included in the exhibition Ethereal Elegance. Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing. The Huaihaitang Collection, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2007, catalog no. 139; and another sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 17th January 1989, lot 699. For a Yongzheng prototype, with only eight peaches, see one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Gugong Bowuyuan cang Qingdai yuyao ciqi [Porcelains from the Qing dynasty imperial kilns in the Palace Museum collection], Beijing, 2005, volume 1, part 2, plate 76; and a Qianlong version in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, plate 16.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related famille rose bottle vase, also with the nine peaches design and with a Daoguang seal mark in iron-red and of the period, at Christie’s New York in Fine Chinese Ceramics, Jades and Works of Art on 19 September 2007, lot 420, sold for USD 37,000. Compare also a closely related vase, but with Jiaqing seal mark and of the period, at Sotheby’s New York, in Important Chinese Art on 12 September 2018, lot 157, sold for USD 175,000 (price for a pair).

道光款與年代御用粉彩福壽雙全圖天球瓶
中國，1821-1850年。九桃天球瓶， 粉彩琺琅描繪山石閒桃樹和靈芝，兩色葉粉花中結九桃，桃紋色彩柔和美絕，​淡粉、嫩黃、鮮綠等。枝條間有礬紅蝙蝠，蝙蝠和壽桃意味著福壽雙全之意。 圈足内礬紅六字“大清道光年制”及時代。

來源：克羅地亞薩格勒布私人收藏，據説1980年代購於瑞典。
品相：頸部的 V 形部分（約 6 x 7 厘米）經過修補。 局部輕微釉料剝落和磨損。底部有一條細線，可能是因為磕損。所有這些細節都可以在 www.zacke.at 附加圖片中看到。

重量：1,668 克
尺寸：高30 厘米

拍賣結果比較：一件相近的粉彩天球瓶，同樣有九桃和礬紅道光款及年代，見紐約佳士得 Fine Chinese Ceramics, Jades and Works of Art，2007年9月19日，lot 420, 售價USD 37,000。一對相近但帶嘉慶款的天球瓶見紐約蘇富比 Important Chinese Art，2018年9月12日，lot 157，售價USD 175,000。