Plain Tricolor Vase with Interlocking Lotus Design on a White Ground

Apart from the ruyi-head cloud patterns decorating the mouth rim and the tendril embellishing the foot, the vase is painted with interlocking lotus flowers all over. A plain tricolor porcelain ware was made by filling the colors in the carved pattern parts, which was left unglazed, on a biscuit coated with transparent or colored glaze layer that has been fired at high temperatures. The firing process is different from the tricolor pottery made in the Tang dynasty, although both of them are known as “tricolor”. The “plain tricolor” indicates the exclusion of red.