Cup with Stylized Fruit: Plums, Cherries, Melon, and Seeds
1662–1722
- Medium
- Porcelain painted with overglaze enamels
- Dimensions
- 5.1 × 9.7 cm (2 × 3 13/16 in.); Diam.: 9.7 cm (3 13/16 in.)
- Genre
- drinking vessel
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
porcelainvesselceramicsdrinking vesselasian artChinese (culture or style)
About
Delicately painted fruits and seeds in soft pastel hues enhance the clear-glazed interior of this crimson-sheathed cup, one of a set. While the peaches on this cup symbolizes longevity, the abundantly seeded plum, cherry, and melon-like fruit convey wishes for numerous offspring. This auspicious message is further emphasized through stylized, free-floating seeds that fill the spaces between the fruits.