Blanc de Chine @ Vanderven & Vanderven Oriental Art
Blanc de Chine Figures. China, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Courtesy Vanderven & Vanderven Oriental Art
Height: 65 cm - Price on request
Provenance: Robson Family collection (since 1890’s), United Kingdom
Not all Chinese ceramics were made in the kilns of the city of Jingdezhen. The well-known kiln of Dehua in Fujian Province has long been famous for its excellent creamy white porcelain, the so-called Blanc de Chine. Most of the objects made there, were statues made for the home market to be used on altars or in the scholar’s study. From the middle of the 17th century, however, these figures were also exported to meet an ever-increasing demand in Europe for strange and exotic objects. Although statuettes of Guanyin with a child symbolise the Chinese wish for male offspring, to the Europeans the resemblance with the Virgin Mary and Child was most striking. These two figures have detachable heads.
Two Blanc de Chine Fo-Dogs. China, Kangxi period (1662 - 1722). Courtesy Vanderven & Vanderven Oriental Art
Height: 27 cm - Price on request
Blanc de Chine Libation Cup. China, Kangxi period (1662 - 1722). Courtesy Vanderven & Vanderven Oriental Art
This cup has silver mounts. Height: 7 cm - Price: € 3.500,-
Blanc de Chine Libation Cup. China, Kangxi period (1662 - 1722). Courtesy Vanderven & Vanderven Oriental Art Height: 6 cm - Price: € 3.000,- Blanc de Chine is a type of white procelain made in the Chinese province of Dehua. Its special characteristic is its warm white or pale ivory colour, which comes from the small amount of iron oxide in the local clay. It is this colour that makes it instantly recognizable as opposed to the porcelain from the kilns of Jingdezhen. Gilt bronze mounts were added to this cup in Europe, giving it the elegant French touch which was fashionable among 18th century nobles. Vanderven & Vanderven Oriental Art, Nachtegaalslaantje 1, 5211 LE 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. E-mail: info@vanderven-vanderven.com