Pair of Chinese Offering Boys Statues in Porcelain
01 April 2021
Description

This pair of statues is made of porcelain. They are 9 inches tall, 4.75 inches wide and e inches deep. The statues appear to have something to do with peaches which they are standing on or carrying.

Provenance

These are from an antique store lot.

Acquired from
Other
For sale
Maybe
Answered within 1 day
By Leah I.
Apr 02, 10:57 UTC
Fair Market Value
$75 - $125 USD
Insurance Value $0 USD
What does this mean?

Thank you for contacting Mearto. This is a pair of Chinese porcelain figurines. One holds a peach and the other a dish of foods or offerings of some kind. In Chinese mythology, peaches represent immortality. They are standing on gourds, symbols of protection and good fortune. The red dot on their foreheads is also related to Chinese culture. I have added information below.

The Fair Market Value of this pair is between $75 and $125.

Gourd:
“In terms of history, gourds 葫芦 (hú lu) were dried and used for keeping or transporting water, wine, medicines and magic potions. However, as with many other objects and symbols in Chinese beliefs, they also had a homophonic relationship with another “hu”: 护 (hù), signifying protection and blessing (祜 hù). Thus, gourds in China were used as charms for scaring away malefic spirits and diseases.”

Red dot:

“The First Writing Ceremony, also called Qi Meng (Enlightenment) Ceremony, was a very important ceremony for every student before they were admitted to school. During the ceremony, the teacher would put a red dot on the child’s forehead. The red dot represented opening the wisdom eye, since the words 'dot' are pronounced the same as 'wisdom' in Chinese.”

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