A Kangxi Blanc de Chine Porcelain Beaker with Prunus Design.

A Kangxi Blanc de Chine Porcelain Beaker with Prunus Design, Dehua Kilns, Fujian Province, China. This is a particularly well made Blanc de Chine beaker is from the Harriet Carlton Goldweitz Collection (see Provenance). The potting is very good, the prunus sprigs are exceptionally crisp and clear. The glaze is creamy and has a warm tint. It is Kangxi, probably from c.1680-1700. Prunus, which includes plums, cherry and almond. ‘Plum Blossom’ is one of the most important plants in Chinese art. Their flowers grow on knurled old angular branches, the flowers are fragile and pure, so they can be a symbol of vigour in old age as well as purity. The tree is the first to flower after the long hard winter, symbolically it can represent perseverance as well as renewal. This meaning is enhanced by a background of cracked-ice, the design can be seen as representing the end of winter and the beginning of spring with the ice of winter cracking to reveal a new year dawning. Branches of plum blossom convey the `Five Blessings` Meikai wufu, longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue and a peaceful death. The number five, an auspicious number to the Chinese, is taken from the five petals of the plum flower. See Below For More Photographs and Information SOLD