sancai

Also known as Tang sancai

Sancai () is a versatile type of decoration on Chinese pottery and other painted pieces using glazes or slip, predominantly in the three colours of brown (or amber), green, and a creamy off-white. It is particularly associated with the Tang dynasty (618–907) and its tomb figures, appearing around 700. Therefore, it is commonly referred to as Tang Sancai in Chinese. Tang sancai wares were sometimes referred in China and the West as egg-and-spinach by dealers, for their use of green, yellow, and white, especially when combined with a streaked effect.

Key facts

Art movement.name: Sancai
Art movement.image: 唐三彩碗-Bowl MET DP342650.jpg
Art movement.caption: Sancai-glazed bowl, Tang dynasty (7th–10th century). Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Art movement.branch: Chinese ceramics
Art movement.yearsactive: Tang dynasty (7th–10th century); revived in Liao, Song, and Ming dynasties
Art movement.location: Gongyi and Luoyang, Henan; Tongchuan, Shaanxi; Xi'an, Shaanxi
Art movement.influences: Han dynasty lead-glazed pottery
Art movement.influenced: Cizhou ware, Nara three-color ware (Japan), Silla three-color ware (Korea)

via Wikipedia infobox

~12 min read

Encyclopedic overview

10 sections

Contents

Technique
Development
Vessels
Gallery
Influences
Revival under the Qing
Modern reproduction trade
Notes
References
External links

The Tang dynasty three-color glazed pottery is the treasure of ancient Chinese ceramic firing techniques. It is a kind of low-temperature glazed pottery popular in the Tang dynasty. The glaze has yellow, green, white, brown, blue, black and other colours. The yellow, green, and white colour-based are predominant, so people call it "Tang Sancai." Because the Tang Sancai was unearthed in Luoyang earliest and is most found in Luoyang, it is also known as "Luoyang Tang Sancai."

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “sancai” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.