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A Lac Burgaute Cup - Sacred Peach and Bats - Ming browse these categories for related items... All Items: Chinese: Lacquer: Inlaid: Pre 1700: item #440320 Please refer to our stock #Ichi 1747 when inquiring.
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| Silver lined Chinese lac burgaute cup in the shape of a sacred peach and decorated with a design of inlaid bats and clouds. Note how the artist used the stem of the peach as the handle for the cup and two leaves as a base for the cup to stand firmly. The cup measures 5 3/4" long at the top by 3 1/2" wide and is 1 3/4" high. We date this cup from the middle Ming period, circa 1500-1600. The Chinese lacquer technique known as Laq Burgaute was introduced in the late Yuan dynasty and consists of very tiny pieces of mother of pearl that are inlaid into the still wet black lacquer in the design chosen by the artist. This cup is in very good condition with some of the usual minor inlay losses - normal wear for a piece that is over 500 years old. The Sacred Peach has a special place in Chinese mythology. The peach is also known as the "fairy fruit." It was the peach that gave immortality to the Immortals and was the elixir of life to the Daoists. It is also a symbol for marriage, spring and immortality. The peach tree of the Gods was said to blossom once every 3000 years and the fruit of eternal life took another 3000 years to ripen.The bat is also a good luck symbol. Emblem of good fortune. When something is depicted upside down it means it has arrived, so the common depiction of an upside-down bat symbolizes good fortune has arrived. The Wu Fu, or Five Bats of Happiness, stand for the five blessings: long life, riches, health, love and a natural death. | |||||||||||
