Juliette Hammer
Sale Coordinator
Lot 30
A BAMBOO 'PEACH AND BAT' CARVING 18th century
14 May 2025, 10:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£3,000 - £5,000
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Chen Xie
Specialist
Edward Luper
Specialist, Chinese Works of Art
Lazarus Halstead
Head of Chinese and Asian Art, London
A BAMBOO 'PEACH AND BAT' CARVING
18th century
Naturalistically carved in the shape of a ripe peach, resting upon openwork leafy branches, finely carved in relief with two bats in flight, the bamboo patinated to a warm brown colour.
12cm (4 3/4in) high.
Naturalistically carved in the shape of a ripe peach, resting upon openwork leafy branches, finely carved in relief with two bats in flight, the bamboo patinated to a warm brown colour.
12cm (4 3/4in) high.
Footnotes
十八世紀 竹雕桃蝠紋擺件
Provenance: Purchased from Hugh Moss, 1977 (collector's notes)
來源: 1977年購於Hugh Moss（據藏家筆記）
The Chinese character for bat, fu (蝠), is a homophone for fu (福), meaning 'blessing,' while the peach has long been a powerful symbol of 'longevity' in Chinese culture. The decorative motif of combining bats and peaches, as seen in the present lot, was especially popular during the Qing dynasty. It symbolises the wish for both blessings and longevity, known as fu shou shuangquan (福壽雙全).
See a related bamboo brush washer, similarly carved with bats and peaches, Qing dynasty, in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Literati Spirit: Art of Chinese Bamboo Carving, Shanghai, 2012, pp.118-119, no.53. See also a related bamboo box in the shape of a peach surmounted with bats, Kangxi period, illustrated by Ip Yee and L.C.S.Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving, vol.I, Hong Kong, 1978, pp.248-249, pl.58.