Three Color Pottery 唐三彩

These photos document the ancient form of making hand made pottery that began back in the Tang Dynasty in China. Tang Dynasty "three colored pottery" is unique because of the three colors they used namely green from copper, brown from iron and white(although not always only these three). Blue from cobalt was also used. These artist still follow the ancient ways to make it. Starting with clay and then either putting it in a mold or making the entire piece from clay formed by hand. The pieces are then fired for 18 hours in a coal burning kiln. They are later painted and then fired for four hours in a wood burning kiln. The final pieces are a brilliant and bright colors. However, through a "secret" process, the colors are subdued by submerging the pieces in water and then dusting them with dirt and letting them sit for some time.

©Jonathan Clayton 2017

Painting horse with copper, iron and white colors.

Wood burning kiln a peak temp of about 1000 degrees C after three hours of burning.

Kiln after being opened. Colors are now clearly visible

Getting ready to carve

Master Mo is taking a short break before he starts working on a figure.

Carving the head of 麒麟

Master Mo is carving the head of the Qi Lin. An ancient fictional animal that has the head of a dragon, body of a lion and antlers of a deer.

胡人 or The Foreigner

These figures represent the "foreigners" that came to China during the Tang Dynasty via the Silk Road. Most were from the Middle East. This figure was also made completely from hand.

Carving the eye of The Foreigner

Woman playing pan flute

Assembling horse

The horse body and legs were formed from a mold. Each section is made as a half piece. The halves a then put together and detailed by hand using nothing more than a small knife.