Water Pot with Boys

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Archaeological evidence indicates that the kilns near Dehua, in Fujian Province, opened in the late thirteenth century and flourished after the sixteenth, when they became known for their distinctive white porcelains with thick, lustrous glazes. The Dehua kilns produced a range of goods, including religious figures and objects for the scholar's table such as this charming water pot. Works produced at the kilns were also exported to Europe, particularly in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and, as a result, are often referred to in Western literature as blanc-de-chine, a French term meaning "Chinese white."

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art