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.

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Rich Artistic Connotation & Historical Background:

This is a classical Chinese Tang tri-coloured statue named "Catching the King of Ghosts".

Tang tri-coloured ceramics are treasures of ancient Chinese pottery art, famous for their unique colours and shapes.

This statue is based on the style of the Tang Dynasty, showing an image of a heroic and fearless figure catching ghosts and monsters.

Its craftsmanship is exquisite, with bright colours giving it a quaint and mysterious feel.

The history of Tang tri-coloured ceramics can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty when it was a favourite art form among royalty and nobles.

The production process of Tang tri-coloured ceramics is very complex, requiring multiple steps to complete.

Firstly, artisans shape the clay into various forms and then apply different colours.

Finally, they fire it in a kiln to make the colours more vibrant.

The colours of Tang tri-coloured ceramics are diverse, including red, yellow, green, blue, and each colour has its specific meaning.

Red represents passion and courage, yellow represents wisdom and wealth, green represents life and hope, and blue represents loyalty and faith.

The "Catching the King of Ghosts" statue is a representative work of Tang tri-coloured ceramics.

It depicts a heroic ghost catcher holding magical instruments, ready to capture evil spirits.

The image is lifelike, as if it could leap out of the screen at any moment.

This statue not only has ornamental value but also carries the longing and awe of ancient people towards the mysterious power.

In modern society, the value of Tang tri-coloured ceramics is not only reflected in art but also becomes the pursuit of collectors.

Some precious Tang tri-coloured ceramic works have been auctioned at sky-high prices, becoming one of the most expensive art pieces in the world.

These Tang tri-coloured ceramic works witness the glorious history of ancient Chinese culture and also demonstrate the infinite possibilities of human pursuit of beauty and creativity.