Lg Camel Riders Tang Style Vintage Chinese Sancai Glaze Ceramic Statue 23”H 三彩

Tang Style Glazed Sancai Ceramic Statue
Four Tang Musicians
Five Riders On Camel
Circa: Early Republic, 1950s’
H. 23 in. (58cm), W. 7 in. (18cm), D. 16 in. (40cm)
10 lbs., very good condition!

A large imposing three-colored glazed Sancai 三彩 ceramic statue, depicting four musicians atop a camel led by a bearded big man appeared to be a foreigner. The ceramic camel statue is a celebrated memento of the cultural flowering of the Tang period (618 to 907 AD); when Chinese goods were extensively traded in the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa, and Southern Europe through merchant caravans traveled to and fro the Silk Road since 207 BCE, and then Syria, Cypriot, and Italia from the 13th to the middle of the 15th century. This Camel is a brilliant example of Chinese Sancai sculpture, a high-quality collectible centerpiece for home or office. 

Note that the vibrant colors of this ceramic sculpture are created at a minimum of three firings, a first bisque firing, then a second firing consisted of amber to a brown glaze using iron oxide, and a bright green colored glaze using copper oxide, which melts and combines with a variety of minerals. On closer observation, one can see the spider-web fine crackle-lines on the surface that are the result of the third firing of a transparent glaze that shrinks during the cooling process.