A Kangxi Blanc de Chine Porcelain Model of a Cockerel c.1680 – 1720
A Kangxi Blanc de Chine Porcelain model of a cockerel c.1680-1720.
- Condition
- In perfect condition. The cockerel leans slightly and there are a couple of firing cracks , one where the tail joins the base and the other where one leg joins the claws.
- Size
- Height : 15 cm (6 inches)
- Provenance
- N/A
- Stock number
- 24797
- References
- For a very similar Blanc de Chine model of a cockerel see : Blanc de Chine (P.J. Donnelly, Faber and Faber, 1969. ISBN 571-08078-2) plate 109 D. A enamelled 17th century Japanese version of this model is in Burghley House, published in `The Burghley Porcelains, An Exhibition from The Burghley House Collection and Based on the 1688 Inventory and 1690 Devonshire Schedule` (Japan Society, New York, 1986) pages 222 and 223, item 90, another even closer version is illustrated on page 225 and described on page 224, item 91.
Photos
Information
This Chinese Export Porcelain cockerel is very similar to models produced in Japan at the Arita and possibly Kakiemon kilns, see illustration below. I am not sure where the form originated but it was clearly made as a decorative object for the West.
Blanc de Chine Porcelain :
The porcelain known in the West as Blanc de Chine was produced 300 miles south of the main Chinese kiln complex of Jingdezhen. The term refers to the fine grain white porcelain made at the kilns situated near Dehua in the coastal province of Fujian, these kilns also produced other types of porcelain. A rather freely painted blue and white ware, porcelain with brightly coloured `Swatow` type enamels as well as pieces with a brown iron-rich glaze. However it is the white blanc de Chine wares that have made these kilns famous. The quality and colour achieved by the Dehua potters was partly due to the local porcelain stone, it was unusually pure and was used without kaolin being added. This, combined with a low iron content and other chemical factors within the body as well as the glaze, enabled the potters to produce superb ivory-white porcelain.
A closely related late 17th Century Japanese Porcelain Cockerel.
at Burghley House, Arita Kilns c.1660-1680
