Wucai Porcelian Kylin Pi Xiu Dragons. Pair. China
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
Adorable hand painted kylins in porcelain.
Wucai, which has its origins in the earlier Doucai ceramics, first appeared during the reign of the Ming Dynasty Emperor Jiajing who ruled the Chinese empire between 1521 and 1567. Its manufacture continued through the Ming Dynasty and into the succeeding Qing Dynasty.
Jingdezhen, often called the Porcelain City and is still producing fine ceramics today, was the esotericstuff.com site of production for Wucai ceramics. Although Wucai – translated as ‘five-color’ – were not strictly limited to that number.
Wucai porcelain was made by over-glazing ceramic pieces after they had been fired once with a blue under-glaze. The over-glaze included a variety of colors such as red, green, blue, yellow and purple, and once it had been applied the pieces were fired a second time.
So Wucai is not your normal “porcelain”. It has become more popular in the last few years…. and so has the price risen for quality pieces, like this.
They are cute, delightful and you need to own them!