This is a lively figure of the legendary Liu Hai and the three-legged toad. It is a heavily moulded piece with shallow modelling and little apparent hand-finishing. An interpretation from the Yuan period (1279– 1368) is that Liu Haichan, or the 'Toad Immortal', was originally an immortalised court official of the 10th century. Eventually he was worshipped as the fourth patriarch of the Quanzhen school of Daoism, one of the largest of the 13th century schools. His earliest depiction dates to this period after which his popularity increased. This popular depiction of Liu with a coin in one hand includes the three-legged toad, who it was believed, came from the moon, and taught him the secrets of immortality and hidden treasures. Liu is now a symbol of prosperity.Dehua, located on the southeast coast of Fujian province, is well known for its production of white porcelain, known to Europeans as 'blanc de Chine'. The earliest Dehua porcelain was produced as early as the 14th century but the production and quality of these porcelain peaked around the 17th and 18th centuries.
