What clay gave Dehua porcelain its white colour?

Dehua porcelain gained its white colour from local kaolin-rich clay found in Fujian Province. That clay carried low iron content, helping kiln workers achieve pale ivory tones after high-temperature firing. Other Chinese kilns often produced grey or bluish surfaces from mineral differences inside local clay deposits. Potters refined the clay through washing and settling methods, where workers removed coarse particles before shaping figures or vessels by hand. Sculptors valued the material for its fine texture, which allowed detailed carving around robes, jewellery, and facial features and firing temperatures often exceeded 1,200 degrees Celsius, such heat transformed the clay into hard porcelain with slight translucency. Older Dehua pieces usually display creamy white glaze rather than bright paper-white colour and collectors often describe the tone as warm ivory or soft moonlight white. Laboratory tests on antique shards show high silica and alumina content and ceramic historians compare Dehua material with kaolin used later in European hard-paste porcelain factories. Early Meissen chemists reportedly examined imported Chinese ceramics closely during attempts to duplicate Asian porcelain methods. Modern factories still mine clay near Dehua County, where contemporary production reaches millions of pieces yearly, ranging from religious figures to hotel tableware.