Dehua white porcelain in Japan

Dehua white porcelain in Japan

Dehua white porcelain in Japan was traditionally known among Japanese as "hakugorai" or “Korean White Ware.” Although Korai was a term for an ancient Korean kingdom, the term also functioned as a ubiquitous term for various products from the Korean peninsula. This is not to suggest that historically Japanese were entirely oblivious to the existence of the Fujian province kilns and their porcelain, now known as Dehua or Blanc de Chine ware. (Blanc de Chine is a French term for Chinese white porcelain known in China as Dehua ware and is in common usage in the west.)

The Dehua kilns are located in Fujian province opposite the island of Taiwan. Coastal Fujian province was traditionally a trade center for the Chinese economy with its many ports and urban centers. Fujian white ware was meant for all of maritime Asia. However a large quantity of these ceramics was intended for a Japanese market before drastic trade restrictions by the mid 1600s. Items were largely Buddhist images and ritual utensils utilized for family altar use. Associations with funerals and the dead have perhaps led to a certain disinterest in this ware among present day Japanese, despite an intense interest in other aspects of Chinese ceramic culture and history.

Many examples of great beauty of this ware have made their way to collections in the west from Japan. Among the countless Buddhist images meant for the Japanese market are those that with strongly stylized robes that show an influence from the Kano School of painting that dominated Tokugawa Japan. It seems a certainty that Dehua white ware was made with Japanese tastes in mind. Perhaps also likely is Japanese taste in the very plain white incense tripods and associated objects for Japanese religious and ritual observance. Of interest also are the Buddhist Goddesses of Mercy with child figures that close resembled Christian figurines. Such figurines were known as Maria Kannon or “Blessed Virgin Goddesses of Mercy” and were part of the “hidden Christian” culture of Tokugawa Japan which had strictly banned the religion.

White porcelain Buddhist statuary was extensively produced in Japan at the Hirado kilns and elsewhere. The two wares can be easily distinquished. Japanese figures are usually closed on the base and a small hole for ventilation can be seen. Hirado Ware also displays a slightly orange tinge on unglazed areas.

References

*Shanghai Art Museum, "Fujian Ceramics and Porcelain", Chinese Ceramics, vol. 27, Kyoto, 1983.
*Kato Tokoku, "Genshoku toki daijiten" (A Dictionary of Ceramics in Color), Tokyo, 1972, p. 777.

See also

Blanc de Chine


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Dehua — ( 德化 ) is located in central Fujian, one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China. DescriptionDehua is rich in kaolin and famous for ceramic products, especially crafts and dinnerware, including candle holders, Piggy banks, photo frames,… …   Wikipedia

  • Dresden Porcelain Collection — The Dresden Porcelain Collection Chinese porcelain from the Q …   Wikipedia

  • Chinese porcelain in European painting — The Feast of the Gods (detail), Giovanni Bellini, 1514 …   Wikipedia

  • Blanc de Chine — Statue of Guan Yin, Ming Dynasty (Shanghai Museum) Blanc de Chine (French for Chinese white ) is the traditional European term for a type of white Chinese porcelain, made at Dehua in the Fujian province, otherwise known as Dehua porcelain or… …   Wikipedia

  • Chinese ceramics — Ming covered red jar with dragon and sea design from the Jiajing reign Chinese ceramic ware shows a continuous development since the pre dynastic periods, and is one of the most significant forms of Chinese art. China is richly endowed with the… …   Wikipedia

  • pottery — /pot euh ree/, n., pl. potteries. 1. ceramic ware, esp. earthenware and stoneware. 2. the art or business of a potter; ceramics. 3. a place where earthen pots or vessels are made. [1475 85; POTTER1 + Y3] * * * I One of the oldest and most… …   Universalium

  • arts, East Asian — Introduction       music and visual and performing arts of China, Korea, and Japan. The literatures of these countries are covered in the articles Chinese literature, Korean literature, and Japanese literature.       Some studies of East Asia… …   Universalium

  • Ming Dynasty — Great Ming 大明 ← 1368–1644 …   Wikipedia

  • Bodhidharma — Bodhidharma, woodblock print by Yoshitoshi, 1887 …   Wikipedia

  • List of Chinese inventions — A bronze Chinese crossbow mechanism with a buttplate (the wooden components have …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”