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Tang Tri-colored Glazed Pottery
 A tri-colored glazed pottery of a camel and a dance
group was unearthed in a Tang general's tomb. The camel is brown and stands with
its head raised high. The long hairs on its head, chest, stomach and upper parts
of its two front legs were carefully executed. On the camel's back is a platform
covered by a rug with two ethnic musicians seated on it with their backs to each
other playing instruments. A third ethnic person dances between them. The three
human figures have deep eyes, high-bridged noses and full beards; they are
wearing long, green sweaters with turned-down collars and white boots. The
figure in the front has a deep yellow coat. This piece of pottery is truly an
exquisite handicraft.
Tri-colored glazed pottery of the Tang Dynasty was mostly produced in Xi'an, Luoyang and Yangzhou, which were important cities along the Silk Road . The camel was the major form of transport on the
ancient trade route during the Tang. From these gazed potteries, we can imagine
the travelers and camels making their hard journey across the desert, depending
on one another for survival. The large figures and camels' resolute expressions
represent the hardships associated with traveling on the long road.
Tri-colored glazed pottery is the crest of Tang pottery and it flourished
during the dynasty's early and middle period. As the Tang gradually lost power
and its porcelain-producing technology developed, tri-colored glazed pottery
declined. Though tri-colored glazed pottery was also produced during the Liao
(916-1125) and Jin (1115-1234) dynasties, it was not made in such great quantity
and its quality was not as good as that of the Tang.
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A tri-colored glazed pottery of a camel and a dance
group was unearthed in a Tang general's tomb. The camel is brown and stands with
its head raised high. The long hairs on its head, chest, stomach and upper parts
of its two front legs were carefully executed. On the camel's back is a platform
covered by a rug with two ethnic musicians seated on it with their backs to each
other playing instruments. A third ethnic person dances between them. The three
human figures have deep eyes, high-bridged noses and full beards; they are
wearing long, green sweaters with turned-down collars and white boots. The
figure in the front has a deep yellow coat. This piece of pottery is truly an
exquisite handicraft.
