A Kangxi Blanc de Chine Porcelain Models of ‘Adam’.

A Blanc de Chine Porcelain Model of a Man, sometimes referred to as `Adam`, Dehua Kilns, Fujian Province, Kangxi Period c.1690-1710. The Chinese man with his neatly divided and tied hair stands on a simple oval rusticated mound with nothing more than a cloth around his waist which he appears to be holding onto. A group of Blanc de chine porcelain models of of standing semi-naked figures on oval rusticated bases have traditionally been referred to as Adam and Eve. This is possibly because their clothing is so scant and simple they can be seen as having a passing resemblance to images of Adam and Eve in Western art. But as David Freedman points out in S.Marchant & Son`s 1985 catalogue of an exhibition of Blanc de Chine “.. there is no doubt that the face and hairstyle are Chinese and there is nothing to suggest a European model”. European models were used as prototypes for Blanc de Chine figures, but they always have something to betray their Western origin, indeed that was the point, as they were made for the West. It is more likely these figures depict an indigenous or foreign ethnic group in China. Although appearing to be made as a pair it is curious that there are more male figures than female one in existence. The variation among these figures is minimal, the method of production is also very similar, that and the fact they are uncommon all point to a short production period. They were produced at Dehua in Fujian province during the reign of Kangxi, somewhere between c.1690 and 1710. There is some red cold-painting (effectively red water colour) remaining to the inside part of his robe. Cold-painting was often used on Blanc de Chine export porcelain, I don’t know if it was added in Europe or not. See Below For More Photographs and Information