Dehua porcelain is one of the traditional porcelain sculpture firing techniques of Dehua, Fujian,also known as the three modern porcelain capitals of China along with Jingdezhen, Jiangxi and Liling, Hunan. It is one of the birthplaces of Chinese ceramic culture. The production of Dehua porcelain began in the Neolithic Age, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and peak in the Ming Dynasty. Qing, unique skills, inheritance is never unbroken.
What is dehua porcelain？
Dehua porcelain is a specialty of Dehua County, Fujian Province. “BLANC DE CHINE” is the French praise of Ming Dynasty of Dehua white porcelain. They think it is “the top Chinese porcelain.” Dehua porcelain has the characteristics of good whiteness, high gloss, strong thermal stability, temperature resistance, pressure resistance, wear resistance and corrosion resistance,physical characteristics of pure glaze, high density, and good light transmittance.
Production area environment of dehua porcelain
Dehua County is located in the northwest of Quanzhou City, Fujian Province,belongs to mid-subtropical monsoon climate. Red soil is the largest distribution area, followed by yellow soil. with diverse varieties of mineral resources, especially porcelain clay and iron ore.
Characteristics of Dehua porcelain
Dehua porcelain fired at 1300℃—1400℃ has good whiteness, high gloss, strong thermal stability, high mechanical strength, temperature, pressure, wear, corrosion resistance. It also has pure and warm glaze color , high density, good light transmittance etc. According to laboratory tests, there are very few impurities such as iron oxide and titanium oxide in Dehua white glaze and porcelain, so the glaze is pure.
Types of Dehua porcelain
Dehua porcelain including:Dehua white porcelain,Dehua bluish-white porcelain, Dehua celadon,Dehua bone porcelain. Dehua white porcelain including: Chinese white, High grade and white porcelain and ivory white porcelain.
Features Craft of Dehua porcelain
- Skilled pinching skills. The traditional skills of Dehua porcelain sculpture include pinching, molding, engraving, rubbing, cutting, scraping, joining, scratching, etc. the pinching is even more amazing in all. The hands, feet, bead strings, floral decorations, and tassels of Dehua porcelain sculpture are all pinching afterwards, which are exquisite, delicate and realistic.
- Dehua Porcelain fully uses of contrasting techniques, highly decorative. For example, the clothes of statues tend to float in the wind,strong contrast,finely carved face.
- In the carved and embossed decoration of Dehua porcelain, the beauty of craftsmanship and materials are integrated, presenting a gentle, noble and implicit famous kiln temperament. In particular, the decoration or carving of ivory white porcelain are both used, and the glaze is distinct and rich in layers. This unique artistic effect is closely combined with the elegant and warm porcelain, which is natural and complements each other.
- Dehua porcelain sculpture is a collection of other art categories,accumulation of China national culture. The portrait of its absorbs the nutrients of grotto art, and texture of its shows the charm of Chinese paintings with lines,quiet and comfortable expression, dignified and kind, vertical and horizontal, moving in tranquility and up and down rhythm.
- Dehua porcelain sculpture breaks through all the limitation of official kilns,showing interesting,lively folk life. It uses a wide range of materials, simple and lively composition, smoothly stretched, and expressing an open-minded and optimistic mind.
- The body of Dehua porcelain is dense and good light transmittance, which is better than other white porcelain. Dehua white porcelain is made of porcelain clay with higher silicon oxide. The potassium oxide in clay is as high as 6%.
- Pure white Dehua glaze.bright color, white like curd. Under light, pink or milky white appears in the glaze, so it is called “ivory white”. the French also called it “Goose Down White” and “Chinese White” after spreading to Europe.
- Dehua porcelain statues can show various expression, such as: the solemnity of Bodhidharma, the gentleness of Guanyin, and the humor of Luohan.
- Dehua porcelain has excellent texture. Most of its Buddha statues archives the beauty of pure sculpture instead of color decoration.
Dehua Guanyin
Buddhism reached to China from India in the Eastern Han Dynasty, after that reached to Japan from China，so the people of Southeast Asia believed in Buddhism at very early. Dehua clay is excellent, very suitable for firing holy white Guanyin. The fired ceramics of Guanyin fully demonstrated its extraordinary and compassionate generosity. Japan and the Buddhist countries in Southeast Asia love them very much.
Dehua porcelain tea sets price
Dehua porcelain tea sets generally including a teapot, six cups. The whole price between 30 USD and 80 USD.
Dehua porcelain FAQS
What is difference between Dehua ceramics and Jingdezhen ceramics
Raw materials
1. Dehua porcelain is one of the traditional porcelain sculpture firing techniques in Dehua, Fujian. The ceramics made from Dehua clay are very white and translucent, which is known for its white ceramic sculptures.
2. Jingdezhen porcelain is made of kaolin clay. It is rich in minerals,the color and texture of Jingdezhen porcelain are very good after fired at high temperature (above 1300℃), good stability, not fade.
Ccrafts technique
Dehua’s porcelain more used decal technique, using pigments to make decals,then directly pasted on white porcelain, while Jingdezhen porcelains are mostly hand-painted.
How to use Dehua white porcelain teapot for the first time
Using warm water to hot the teapot to prevent cracking. Then putting it into the pot to boil for 2 minutes, adding 20~40 grams of salt, continue to cook for 5 minutes, turn off the fire and soak for 10 hours, then cleaning it with warm water and air dry. Repeat the step with you will brew tea in the future,then washing and drying.
How to find more Dehua ceramics?
There is a characteristic street with “porcelain fragrance” in Dehua, that is Longpeng Street, which is also representative of Dehua, This street gathers the fine ceramics of Dehua County. Visitors can get a variety of porcelain in a short period of time and look for the best one. A wide variety of ceramics, nearly 10,000 varieties, including daily ceramics, traditional sculpture craft porcelain, Western craft porcelain, and red soil pottery, which are the ” Garden” of Dehua ceramics.
How many styles does Dehua porcelain sculpture have?
There are rich in themes. From Song to Ming, there were Tathagata, Guanyin, Bodhidharma, Maitreya, Luohan, Patriarch and Queen Mother, Emperors, Eight Immortals, Magu, Longevity, etc. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, more extensive, such as: Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, Chang’e,Qu Yuan, Su Wu, Ban Chao, Guan Yu, Yue Fei, Zheng Chenggong, Li Bai, Du Fu , Zhuo Wenjun, Cai Wenji, Mu Guiying, Liang Hongyu, Xi Shi, Zhaojun, Diao Chan, etc., Drama stories: Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, Daiyu burial flowers etc. In addition, tigers, leopards, lions, elephants, dragons, phoenixes, cranes, deer, cows, horses, unicorns and other animals, as well as flowers and birds all become the themes of porcelain sculptures. Among them, Guanyin has 72 postures and more than 200 sizes.Guanyin has become a representative of Dehua porcelain since the Ming Dynasty.
Conclusion
Dehua porcelain sculptures have always been an important export product of China to the world. It is well-known in the world as silk and tea,spreading of porcelain technology and improving ceramic technology in the world.
