Pére d'Entrecolles was a French Jesuit missionary who lived from 1664 to 1741. Two of his letters, the fi rst written in 1712 and the second in 1722 were the fi rst extensive account in a western language on the organization of the porcelain factories and the techniques used in the making of porcelain.
His letters provide a fi rst-hand account of the manufacture of porcelain at Jingdezhen during the fi rst quarter of the eighteenth century. They were written during a period where the porcelain export to the west gained momentum and the inventiveness in ceramics delivered to the new Chinese Qing dynasty court under the intelligent and demanding Kangxi (1662-1722) emperor knew no boundaries.
The two letters were translated from the French and published in William Burton's Porcelain, It's Art and Manufacture, B.T. Batsford, London, 1906. Letter 1 was translated by Robert Tichane, in Robert Tichane, Ching-te-chen. Views of a porcelain city (Painted Post, NY), 1983, pp. 55-111.
The fi rst letter is dated 1st September, 1712 and was addressed to Père Orry, procurer of the Chinese and Indian missions. It was written from Jaochow [Jao-chou]. The second letter is dated from Jingdezhen [Ching-tê-chên] itself, on the 25th of January, 1722.
See: Selected Passages from the Letters of Père d'Entrecolles, 1712 and 1722 (Pdf file)
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