Check out this sancai vase crafted in the form of two fish facing each other! The fishes’ mouths together make up the vase’s mouth, their dorsal fins serve as the vase handles, and their tails are shaped as the vase’s base. The fishes’ eyes, scales and fins are meticulously rendered. Bright green, yellow and brown glazes intermingle and complement to adorn the vase surface.
Excavated from the Saogoushan site in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, in 1975, the vase reflects the small and exquisite features of the sancai ware in southern China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It is now a treasure in the permanent collection of the Nanjing Museum.