Craft:Chinese traditional handicraft with thousands of years history

Origin:Luoyang

Tang San Cai, also called Tricolor Glazed Pottery and a gem of ancient Chinese art, is a kind of handmade glazed ware of exquisite craftsmanship created in the Northern and Southern Dynasty (386-589) about 1,400 years ago. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the production of Tang San Cai reached its peak, which is part of the reason the pottery got the name of Tang San Cai.

Luoyang, named the eastern capital in ancient times, in Henan Province was the home of Tang San Cai, and most of unearthed Tang San Cai was found in Luoyang.

Tang San Cai is a polychrome handicraft with yellow, green, and white as its major tones. It is fired with lead glaze and presents a harmonious complex of varied colors, deep and light. The process is complicated: first, bake the ready mode in kilns until the temperature reaches 1,100oC, then take it out and apply glaze on it; bake it again in kilns at a temperature of about 900¡ãC.

Tang San Cai items that have been unearthed include horses, humans, and even pillows, and camels, of which the pottery camel is one of the best. Its head rises high, as if telling stories about merchant caravans along the Silk Road in the remote past and the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.

Being the gem of ancient Chinese art, Tang San Cai absorbed the advantages of Chinese painting, sculpture and stone carving. It features fleshy figures, regular and exquisite technics, compact carving traces, and smooth lines, indicating the high-level of the craft reached in the Tang Dynasty. Tang San Cai is primaryly divided into pottery tomb-figures and daily commodities.

After the founding of new China, specialized institutions have been set up to study the technics of making Tang San Cai, which has boosted the development of the craft.

A Masterpiece of Art & Time:

This artwork is a Tang tri-colour statue, named "Tang Tri-Colour Equestrian Official", which depicts the image of an official riding a horse in the Tang Dynasty.

The statue carries rich historical significance and cultural connotations.

Firstly, the statue employs the unique ceramic technique of Tang tri-colour.

Tang tri-colour was a type of pottery production technology during the Tang Dynasty in China, renowned for its vivid colours and exquisite details.

In this statue, we can see the official wearing luxurious official attire, a hat, and holding reins while riding on a blue horse.

These details all showcase the image and status of an official in the Tang Dynasty.

Secondly, the statue also reflects the social customs and cultural values of the Tang Dynasty.

During the Tang Dynasty, officials usually wore luxurious official attire to display their power and status.

Riding horses was also one of the common modes of transportation in society at that time, so the official riding a horse in this statue also symbolizes their status and power.

Lastly, the statue has certain artistic value.

Tang tri-colour is famous worldwide for its unique colours and craftsmanship, and the details and colour application in this statue are very delicate.

It is not only a practical decorative item but also a work of art that demonstrates the superb level of Tang Dynasty ceramic craftsmanship.

In conclusion, this Chinese classical style Tang tri-colour equestrian official statue has rich historical significance, cultural connotations, and artistic value.

It is not only a practical decorative item but also an important cultural relic that displays the social customs and cultural values of the Tang Dynasty.

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