The peach (桃) is one of the most pervasive, popular and depicted images as both the peach tree and its fruit are sacred longevity symbols. It symbolizes marriage, spring, justice and in Taoism immortality or longevity. It is the symbol of Shoulao, the Chinese God of Longevity. The Queen Mother of the West Xiwangmu worshiped as a goddess of longevity grew the famed peach tree (p’an-t’ao) in her orchard in her sumptuous palatial estate that bears the fruit known as the Chinese “flat peach,” that blooms once every 3000 years and offers immortality to whoever eat it. Dongfang Shuo, one of the Chinese Eight Immortals, is depicted carrying peaches he stole from Xiwangmu’s orchard and is a very popular Chinese image.
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This offering plate with a stack of five propitious fruits was probably affixed to one of the bed posts for a couple as a wish for male children and longevity. The plate sits on a base draped with a stylized ritual cloth and embellished with carved leaves and holds a pomegranate on top to symbolize fertility and the four peaches below are symbols of longevity.
This extremely fine Queen Mother of the West wears her ornate headdress centered by her iconic phoenix representing the sun and her authority. She is the patron deity of women, a divine teacher and is closely associated with the cultivation of virtue and immortality. On her holy birthday devotees, especially women, gather in temples for celebration rituals.
This delicately carved seated female attendant probably accompanied a religious image on a home altar. She holds an offering plate with three offerings of dumplings or pieces of fruit, possibly a peach trio, Chinese longevity symbols. A three-item offering is a pun for a group of three ancient coins known as tael a symbol of wealth and a wish for high status.
In this Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu) image, her significance as one of the most important and powerful Chinese goddesses is indicated by her large size in comparison to her regal horse adorned with a wide blanket, prominent headgear and a double-row harness with a decorative medallion. She wears her characteristic headdress with a phoenix and her face is framed by abundant hair, pendulous ears and dangling earrings. Her right hand is up in a mudra called mushti , the fist “hand seal” by Taoists representing force, power and determination. She is worshipped today in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other overseas Chinese communities.
Shiwan stoneware fruit offerings were especially popular during the Ming and Qing dyansties when the were placed on temple or home altars to communicate and venerate ancestors t augment fresh offerings and bring auspicious blessings of fu to families presenting them. The three peaches interwoven with lotuses are associated with springtime, fertility, and especially a long healthy life for many generations. They are considered propitious gifts for birthdays, especially for the elderly.
Originally mounted on the wood stick between his legs and now inserted to its acrylic stand, this vintage male doll is an attendant offering a huge peach. His large oval head is almost bald and his black hair remains only in a small patches on the sides of his head. He wears a typical colorful folk-art Chinese dance costume: bright red shoes, yellow pants, a greenish-blue coat with florals, a high sequined yellow belt, and a wide blue sash outlined with silver and gold thread and colored 5-petal silver sequin plum blossoms hanging down to the base evoking a wish for the Five Blessings or Happinesses. It is in very good condition with expected wear and minor paint losses and charming spotting on the face.
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