A Kangxi Blanc de Chine Porcelain Model of a Ox

An Unusual Kangxi Blanc de Chine Model of an Ox, Dehua kilns, Fujian Province. This Blanc de Chine porcelain model depicts animal that was a beast of burden as well as one of the twelve animals of the zodiac. It was made from many diffierent moulded components. The body was constructed from two sections, each of the four legs was made from two moulded pieces as was the head. These were all luted together and the horns, ears and tail were applied by hand. In fact the tail was made out of a small piece of clay pushed onto the surface, the kink is a nicely observed detail in what is after all a rather bizarre looking creature.

Models such as the present example were luted together from moulded sections. In 18th century England the people who carried out this process were called ‘repairers’, indeed the process is similar to repairing broken ceramics, except that you use clay as your glue. Wet clay was used to stick the leather-hard moulded sections together, the process is referred to as luting from the Latin Lutum meaning mud or clay. To help made sure the join will be as strong as possible the edges of the clay sections are scored, so the luting material really binds with the joining surfaces, especially when firm pressure is applied. The luted joins are then cleaned, smoothed down, so the piece looks seamless.

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