Basic Introduction to Jiepai Porcelain
Jiepai, located in the southwest foothills of Mount Heng in Hunan Province, China, is at the boundary of Hengyang and Hengshan counties. The Jiepai porcelain clay deposits are vast, extending for more than 30 miles. The clay contains a high percentage of aluminum (over 20%, with the best sources having over 35%), making it one of the top three porcelain clay mining areas in China. Jiepai porcelain production dates back to the late Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty (1735), with a history spanning over 300 years.
Product Features
Jiepai porcelain offers a wide variety of products, mainly tableware and tea sets, categorized into four types: Jade Pattern, Crescent Moon, Moon Star, and Double Ridge. The products are thin and even like paper, smooth and glossy like jade, with colors that are both vivid and soft, and intricately shaped and hollowed out.
Historical Folklore
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the ceramic industry in Hunan Province experienced rapid development, with the production bases in Liling and Jiepai being the most renowned. In 1959, on the basis of public-private partnerships, the Hunan Jiepai Ceramic General Factory was established, comprising seven branch factories. Most of the ceramic products produced by these factories used the “Hunan Jiepai” trademark. The newly formed Jiepai Ceramic General Factory actively developed new technologies and products. To improve porcelain-making techniques, Branch Factory No. 4 was renovated and transformed into the Jiepai Ceramic Pilot Production Group in 1959, which was renamed the Hunan Jiepai Ceramic Research Institute in 1963. Benefitting from high-quality porcelain clay resources and strong government support, the Hengyang Jiepai Ceramic Factory became one of the seven specialized export porcelain enterprises in China.
Awards and Honors
The unique patterned porcelain, white as jade, resonant as a stone, and thin as paper, has been hailed by foreign merchants as the “essence of Eastern art.” The Crescent Moon brand tableware won the second prize for high-grade porcelain sets in 1982.