Ai:'To;.;U~~ of Broken and Misf~Red Specimens Have Been Discovered in
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\-\ Art Review from Nigel Cameron 9 Nov. 90 Dehua Wares. The Fung Ping Shan Museum Until 13 December 'I The familiar white-glazed figure of Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy, sometimes plump and motherly, sometiems lissom, even at times etherial as a Buddhist Garbo, is probably most people's concept of what Dehua porcelain is like.And for once popular impressions are about right. For the peak of fine work in this type of ceramic production from the Song dynasty through to modern times in Fujian province can be said to be embodied in such figures of purity and other worldliness. The exhibition , however, is less concerned with the aesthetic aspect of Dehua, than with its history and development. Between the beginning of the Northern Song dynasty at the(end of the lOth century) and the present, no fewer than 109 kiln sites for production of the wares l-%M ~ ~" ~~y{~~~~~~~d. It used to be thought that production began only in the latter part of the Ming, but that guess has had to be revised since 0 ai:'to;.;u~~ of broken and misf~red specimens have been discovered in ,... undoubtedly 11 th century sites '-' Dehua ceramics (blanc de chine. is the popular name) is one of the most difficult of Chinese ceramics to date due to the long period of its manufacture and the comparatively slight variation or development of forms and decoration. But some progress is now possible in dating, follow- ing on the excavation of material from kilns. Early production seems to ' have been predominantly of domestic jars and containers,some of them ·') with quite elaborate low-reli4tef moulded pattern on the lids of ~ boxes. Later, in Southern Song t~mes,' a green glase was applied, then a ~ black glaze now and then, and stem cups with bdt '""s glazes appear. Three fine figures demonstrate the mastery of glazing and sculpt- ure in the Ming.~ Guanyin, and Wen Chang (~od of Literature) bear the name of the potter, He Chaozong, while the Bodhisattva remains anonymous as to maker. The variety of kiln failures -- pots hermetically sealed inside sla gg&, a ad other- k~iln f1:1: c ; ' . -2- kiln furniture as the firing went badly wrong, offer us evidences of the process which would otherwise remain unknown. Later glazes included a purplish one and attempts at Blue and ~ white and fencai, rounding out a lengthy history of an at first humble, utilitarian ware that reached remarkable heights of perfection. The museum is also showing a collection of snuff bottles 1~ith KX some of the apparatus of containers, spooms, shallow saucers, used in stooing and taling snuff.As even, the Chinese devoted great energy anc creative powers to making the ovjects involved things of beauty in themselves. .