Best Books on 'Blanc de Chine / Dehua' 

Minan Blue-and-white Wares

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Minan Blue-and-white Wares: an Archaeological Survey of Kiln Sites of the 16th-19th Centuries in Southern Fujian, China,

(BAR international series ; 428). Oxford, U. K.: B.A.R., 1988.

A detailed report on the kiln finds of Minan blue-and-white wares, in southern Fujian, with descriptions of five districts of sites and localities, technical skills used, organization of the production, thoughts for further research.


Blanc De Chine: Porcelain from Dehua by Rose Kerr & John Ayers

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Of all new books on Blanc de Chinese this is my favorite. Its very complete and it is very well thought out. The Frank and Pamela Hickley major collection of blanc de Chine, the white porcelain traditionally produced in Dehua, Fujian Province, South China, was given to the Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore in 2000.

Dehua porcelain, or Blanc de Chine as it is known in the West, is pure ivory-white porcelain made at the Dehua kilns in the southern Chinese province of Fujian. It rose to international significance in the 17th century and inspired aristocratic patronage in the development of European porcelain. Its popularity at home and abroad continued and the kilns at Dehua remain prolific to this day. This is the first comprehensive publication since P. J. Donnelly’s pioneering study thirty years ago. An international group of specialists discuss how, why and when the Dehua porcelain phenomenon occurred. The book is also a catalog of the important Hickley Collection in Singapore. Each piece is illustrated in beautiful full color photography.

Four essays on the Dehua production and styles and on the world’s major collections together with an interview with Mrs Pamela Hickley introduce the catalog. 134 pieces from the Collection are illustrated in color and annotated as to style and historical significance. The beauty and great diversity of blanc de Chine is impressively conveyed. Bibliography included.

This one and Donnelly and maybe two more books on Blanc de Chine and you should be pretty well covered regarding figures. If we go on and want to cover Dehua and even worse, Fujian wares, then there will be more books needed of course.

132 pages
Publisher: RoutledgeCurzon; 1 edition (December 30, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0700717137
ISBN-13: 978-0700717132
Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9.1 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds

Dehua Wares. The Fung Ping Shan Museum

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This book was published in 1990 by the University or Hong Kong in cooperation with the mainland Fujian Provincial Museum and is based on the latest archaeological data there is. The book is very up to date, inexpensive, and a good buy even if the number of illustration are comparably few and the dates put to the different pieces are mostly limited to suggest which dynasty. This is probably a “better buy” than Donelly since it is more up to date and more recent, still it is “light years” behind, in over-all scope.


Blanc de Chine by P. J Donelly

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Blanc De Chine (Monographs on Pottery & Porcelain)

This is the classic book on the white porcelain from the Dehua kilns in Fujian province. This books draws mainly on old well known western collections. The content has been challenged and improved upon in many later books. Still this is the pioneering work and personally I like to combine this classic book with more recent publications and excavation reports.

Hardcover: 422 pages
Publisher: Faber and Faber (July 1969)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0571080782
ISBN-13: 978-0571080786

CLASSIC – the book everybody are complaining about but all are referring too …


Blanc De Chine: The Great Porcelain of Dehua by Robert H. Blumenfield

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Blanc De Chine: The Great Porcelain of Dehua

A quite modern book in English, that might be the best choise for those who just want one book on this ware. I personally don’t think that is enough if you collect Blanc-de-chine, but this is a good choise anyway. The author is a leading private collector of Blanc de Chine. The pictures are great and the book contains the history, developement of the ware, early manfacturing and trade as well as details the differences between true Blanc-de-Chine and other, less distinguished white wares. For the Asian art enthusiast, he provides a rich historical account of the evolution of the form, and the character and technical mastery that distinguish its finest pieces.

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Ten Speed Press (February 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1580082939
ISBN-13: 978-1580082938