Title
Lobed water-dropper
Year/Period
Late 17th century
Region
Dehua, Fujian province, China
Material
Dimension
Object size: 5 x 8.6 cm
Accession No.
2000-03444
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Frank and Pamela Hickley
This water-dropper takes the shape of a cupped lotus leaf with its long stem curling from the base to form a spout. A tiny crab in the well of the bowl conceals the hole at the base of the spout, which is devised to drain water. Although ingeniously designed, it is reportedly a leaky pouring vessel that could equally have functioned as a brush-washer.Dehua, located on the southeast coast of Fujian province, is well known for its production of white porcelain, known to Europeans as 'blanc de Chine'. The earliest Dehua porcelain was produced as early as the 14th century but the production and quality of these porcelain peaked around the 17th and 18th centuries.
