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Dehua 8 immortals

Front (55cm tall)

Front (55cm tall)

I bought this in a charity auction. I think it is from the Qing dynasty. After Peter's advice, I have it cleaned. would like to get it more accurately dated.Hope you can help.

It has the Dehua gourd mark and the potter's seal mark at the back. the photo about this is not clear, so I did not post.

Comments for Dehua 8 immortals

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Jan 17, 2012
 Dehua figures
by: Jane

Thanks Peter. I've checked the 2 points you pointed out. there is no line on both sides of the figure. But from inside I think I can see it is two parts put together, the top one and the bottom one. Maybe it is so tall (over 50cm), it needs to be done in two parts then fused together when fired. Also inside, I can see some sort of knife was used to smooth the paste.

Thanks for the compliment, I agree with you that it is elaborate. I can not find anything like this in reference.

I don't have a Chinese specialist at hand, so won't be able to give you feedback on this. I'll keep it in my collection, it is beautiful.

Many thanks!
Jan 16, 2012
 Dehua
by: peter

This is one of the most elaborate Dehua figurines I have ever seen.
Blanc-de-Chine items from Dehua kiln are generally difficult to date.
I know basically only two things to look for with such figures.
- Check if there is a separation line running along both sides of the item. If there is one, then it means that it was likely made after the 1930s. That is when Dehua apparently started using moulds for production.
- If all inside looks as if it was built by hand (which could be the case here), with finger impressions and all, then there is a possiblity that it is antique.

The majority of Dehua figurines on the market seem to be made later (not antiques) in the 20th century. If you think the above two points could point to an antique, I would recommend taking it to a Chinese ceramics specialist for hands-on inspection to verify its age.
This is one of the few cases where pictures won't help much with identification, I'm afraid.

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