Title
Water-dropper with crab
Year/Period
Late 17th century
Region
Dehua, Fujian province, China
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: L7.6 x W4.5 x H3.5 cm
Accession No.
2000-03476
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Frank and Pamela Hickley
This leaf-shaped water-dropper has a crab raised on a stem at the centre. The motif of a crab with waterweed was a symbol of career advancement, although the Dehua crab motifs usually appear without the weed. They were applied to water-droppers and oil lamps from circa 1640 onwards.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.
