Price of emperor's floral art set to blossom at spring auction
Emperor Qianlong, whose six-decade reign in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was the longest in Chinese history, loved flowers in daily life, which was reflected in his gardens, poems, paintings and the decoration of the items he used in his bedrooms.
A series of rare antiques, paintings and even jewelry to go under the hammer at China Guardian's spring auction this week offers a glimpse into the emperor's deep passion for flowers, especially his favorite blooms such as wintersweet, chrysanthemum and peach blossom.
The highlight of the spring auction is a blue-and-white vase with a painting of the utopian world from ancient poet Tao Yuanming's fable The Story of Peach Blossom Spring, in which people live in harmony with nature and forget the outside world.
