(2) Blanc De Chine Vase Lamps Adorned with Figures. Identical Haitangzun shaped vases, all white, with abstract faceless figures crawling all over them. Wooden bases. 

Condition: Working. Small chip on foot of one figure. Signs of repair on other foot of another figure. 

Size with Shade: 18 x 18 x 32 in. 

Size without Shade: 9 x 9 x 32 in. 

#3550 . 

Dehua porcelain (Déhuà Táocí), more traditionally known in the West as Blanc de Chine (French for “White from China”), is a type of white Chinese porcelain, made at Dehua in the Fujian province. It has been produced from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) to the present day. Large quantities arrived in Europe as Chinese export porcelain in the early 18th Century and it was copied at Meissen and elsewhere. It was also exported to Japan in large quantities. In 2021, the kilns of Dehua were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List along with many other sites near Quanzhou for their importance for medieval maritime trade and the exchange of cultures and ideas around the world. The area along the Fujian coast was traditionally one of the main ceramic exporting centers, with over one-hundred and eighty kiln sites identified dating from the Song period to present. From the Ming period porcelain objects were manufactured that achieved a fusion of glaze and body traditionally referred to as “ivory white” and “milk white.” The special characteristic of Dehua porcelain is the very small amount of iron oxide in it, allowing it to be fired in an oxidizing atmosphere to a warm white or pale ivory color. This color makes it instantly recognizable and quite different from the porcelain from the Imperial kilns of Jingdezhen, which contains more iron and has to be fired in reduction (an atmosphere with carbon monoxide) in order to avoid an undesirable yellowish color. Figures, boxes, vases and jars, cups and bowls, fishes, lamps, cup-stands, censers and flowerpots, animals, brush holders, wine and teapots, Buddhist and Taoist figures, secular figures, and puppets have all been made in Blanc de Chine, a testament to its broad appeal in many societies around the world. During the Cultural Revolution Dehua artisans produced countless Mao Zedong figures, although they later fell out of favor and are mostly sought by foreign collectors. Precise dating of Blanc de Chine from the Dynasties is difficult because of the basic similarities in designs over many centuries with little variation. To this day there are Blanc de Chine figures made in Dehua that are virtually indistinguishable from those made in the Ming Dynasty, although some artisans have rejected tradition in favor of crafting more abstract forms, partially to set themselves apart from the crowd and attract new potential buyers.

Working. Small chip on foot of one figure. Signs of repair on other foot of another figure.