Dehua County in central Fujian Province in southeast China is known as one of the Three Porcelain Capitals in China, together with Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province and Liling in Hunan Province.
Dehua porcelain dates back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Solid and smooth, Dehua porcelain is resistant to both heat and cold. One type of "Jianbai" porcelain in particular has a sparkle and luster even more stunning than white jade. Its ivory-white color and superb workmanship make it a favorite of art lovers.
Dehua Kiln was a famous kiln specialized in white porcelain making. Its sites spread about within the scope of today's Dehua County, Fujian Province. Its white porcelain became a representative genre of Chinese porcelain industry. The body of its while porcelain was low in iron content and high in potassium content, the color of the glazed surface was of bright, smooth luster, and milky as frozen fat. It was thus often called as "lard white" or "ivory white". Dehua white porcelain used to be one of the major varieties for export in various dynasties. In the West it was named as "Chinese white porcelain" or "Marco Polo porcelain". Its common shapes were burner, cup, bottle, plate, tin, Zun (a kind of wine vessels), and Ding (an ancient cooking vessel), which are often decorated with appliqués and stamps, and the porcelain figurine was also remarkably exquisite. The masterpiece of Dehua porcelain is white porcelain figure of Buddha.
Dehua porcelain gradually developed its own techniques and styles and enjoyed big development during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). During the Song and Yuan dynasties (960-1368), Dehua porcelain had already been exported to other countries and regions. In modern times, quite a few Dehua porcelains of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) have won gold prizes in expositions held both at home and abroad, such as Shanghai, Taiwan, Japan and Britain, and Dehua porcelain is one of the main products of the national porcelain export, exporting to more than 80 countries and regions. |
