This figure of Zhenwu appears to have been integrally moulded together with the rock base and the legs and feet. It also has a shallow moulded suit of armour, with minimal carving or hand-finishing. The head, with slots for the insertion of a beard, hands, the turtle and snake were the only applied elements. Zhenwu is the Dark Emperor, the Daoist Lord of the Night Sky. The homonym Wu means 'black' as well as 'home', which may also account for his position as a domestic god. He is associated with the tortoise, ruler of the north, and the snake, which are seen here emerging from the rocks beneath his feet. According to legend, the tortoise metamorphosed into Zhenwu when called for by the Song Emperor Huizong (1100 –1125CE) during a thunderstorm.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.
