This roughly made piece was probably a decorative item, one of the many depictions of secular figures in the repertoire of Dehua products that was not necessarily made for export. It perhaps alludes to a scene from a popular story or theatrical of the time. Such pieces have been referred to as 'assignation groups' as they appear to depict illicit meetings between lovers.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.
