| ~1690 | Delft imitation begins | Netherlands | Low-cost substitute | De Grieksche A factory (AK mark), tin-glazed earthenware technique — not true porcelain, but visually approximating Dehua Blanc de Chine |
| ~1693 | Saint-Cloud soft-paste production starts | France | Earliest European soft-paste | Musée des Arts Décoratifs holds ~410 pieces; ~20 examples of Dehua cups paired with Saint-Cloud saucers — physical evidence of Sino-European "semi-finished goods" trade |
| 1709.11.28 | Augustus orders Dehua samples sent to Meissen | Saxony | Hard-paste imitation launched | 7–8 Dehua Blanc de Chine Guanyin figures (sources diverge: Met cites Fay-Hallé recording 8, SKD records 7) sent to the newly established Meissen factory as imitation models |
| ~1710–1720 | Meissen Phase I: Direct copying | Saxony | Piece-by-piece mould copying | Dresden PO 8638 / PE 2373 / PE 2188 three-piece set as core evidence. Copies show systematic shrinkage (formula contraction differential), stiff hand modelling, firing cracks — dual barriers of material and technique |
| ~1720–1730 | Meissen Phase II: Höroldt Chinoiserie | Saxony | Adaptive innovation | J. G. Höroldt joins in 1720, develops 16 enamel colours. The critical pivot from "copying China" to "imagining China" |
| 1731+ | Meissen Phase III: Kändler originals | Saxony | Independent system | J. J. Kändler creates 1,300+ original models. The Swan Service (Schwanenservice, ~1737–1741, 2,200+ pieces) marks Meissen’s complete departure from the Chinese paradigm |
| ~1740–1760 | Ormolu mount peak period | France | Identity transformation | Marchands-merciers fitted Dehua Blanc de Chine with gilt-bronze mounts (ormolu), transforming "exotic curiosity" into "French interior element." Lazare Duvaux Livre-Journal (1748–1758) is the primary source. Madame de Pompadour was a major client |
| ~1744–1776 | Bow Porcelain: "New Canton" | England | Imitation + self-branding | ~300 workers at peak. The Met confirms Bow products included Dehua imitation categories. The "New Canton" name directly reveals Chinese porcelain as the benchmark |
| 1745–1749 | Chelsea Triangle Period prunus relief | England | Second-hand imitation | Chelsea imitated Saint-Cloud’s imitation of Dehua — influence transmitted through two intermediaries. Chain: Dehua → Saint-Cloud → Chelsea |
| ~1750s | The Great Reversal: China imitates Meissen | China / Europe | Direction reversal | European factories reach production capacity and quality maturity, displacing Chinese export porcelain market share. Import substitution completed. This window coincides with the decline of Dehua ivory-white quality (Qing-era Fe₂O₃ increase) |