Jingdezhen Hand Painted Longevity Peach Gaiwan

Jingdezhen, located in the northeastern part of Jiangxi Province, is renowned as the "Porcelain Capital." Its history of porcelain production dates back to the Han Dynasty and reached its zenith during the mid-Ming Dynasty. The most celebrated features of Jingdezhen porcelain are its superior material quality, vibrant glaze colors, intricate decorations, and diverse forms. The porcelain is characterized by its fine, translucent texture and a rich variety of glaze styles, including blue and white (青花), famille rose (粉彩), underglaze red (釉里红), and blue and white with added colors (青花加彩).

Teavivre’s Longevity Peach Gaiwan employs the famille rose technique. The process involves applying low-temperature colored pigments onto pre-fired porcelain, followed by a secondary firing that melts the pigments beneath the glaze, achieving bright yet soft color effects. As the designs are painted over the glazed surface, famille rose patterns exhibit remarkable three-dimensionality and layered depth. Renowned for its distinctive artistic effects and demanding technical requirements, famille rose has remained an exemplary style in Chinese porcelain decoration art throughout history.

This Gaiwan centers on the theme of the "Longevity Peach." The peaches are depicted as plump and full, with a soft pink-to-white gradient that blends naturally. The leaves and branches are outlined in green pigments, layered with varying shades, featuring finely detailed veins that appear lifelike, while the vines extend in gracefully winding curves. Additionally, you might notice five bats adorning both the body and its lid. In Chinese culture, the word for bat ("蝠" fú) shares the same pronunciation as the word for "blessing" ("福" fú). Here, these five bats symbolize the "Five Blessings" (Wǔ Fú), an essential concept in traditional Chinese culture rooted in Daoist philosophy, representing the five universal blessings people pursue and pray for: longevity, wealth, health, virtue, and a peaceful death.

Jingdezhen is a famous city of porcelain crafts due to its long history of the art since the Han Dynasty - and since the Yuan Dynasty when it began producing imperial porcelain for the royal court. Jingdezhen’s porcelain crafts are noted for their beautiful shape, wide variety, rich decoration, and unique style, and are often characterized by the saying “white as jade, bright as a mirror, thin as paper, sound of a chime”. The four traditionally-recognized types of Jingdezhen porcelain are: blue and white; rice-pattern; famille rose; and color-glazed.