A Kangxi Blanc de Chine Porcelain Beaker Made a the Porcelain Workshop of Zhongtun Shi.

A Kangxi Blanc de Chine Porcelain faceted octagonal beaker made in Dehua, Fujian Province by Zhongtun shi (Mr. Zhongtun) c.1700. The sides with recessed moulded panels containing the Eight Immortals. The base with an impressed seal-mark reading Shi Zhong Tun family. Dehua in Fujian province was the center for the production of Blanc de Chine porcelain, the products varied greatly but production was a family business, nearly alway anonymous, the potters names are lost forever. That makes these marked beakers especially interesting as the name of the workshop is impressed into the base prior to firing. 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 See Below For More Photographs and Information SOLD