Pair of Chinese Famille Rose Fish Bowls with Peaches, c. 1900

Every inch of this fantastic Chinese fish bowl is adorned with hand-painted overglaze enamels, a manner of porcelain decorating known as famille rose. Rendered in pastel shades and gilded accents, famille rose porcelain was popular in the late Qing dynasty (1648-1911) as an export style that melded the technical virtuosity of imperial porcelain with fanciful color palettes that met Western tastes. Beautifully painted with intricate detail and soft shading, the enameled fish bowl depicts the Eight Immortals of Taoist mythology journeying to attend the peach banquet of the Queen Mother of the West. Considered the goddess of longevity, this heavenly deity holds a banquet every 6,000 years to share her peaches of immortality, a myth popularized in the 16th-century novel Journey to the West. The Eight Immortals each ride a mythical beast towards the Queen's mountain palace, surrounded by cranes and spotted deer for further blessings of longevity. The interior of the bowl is decorated as well, enameled with goldfish and underwater flora. Today, we love using a bowl of this scale as an indoor fish pond...

During the 18th century, Europeans provided an eager market for Chinese export porcelain, especially the colorful and fanciful ware known as “famille rose.” Named for a palette of op...