Tricolor Washer Decorated with Toads in Waves

The washer has a contracted mouth and a flat bottom. It is supported by three feet, each of which is designed into S-shaped cloud. On the exterior, sixteen yellow toads swim in green waves generating white foams. Both the mouth rim and the feet have a lavender-tinged glaze. At the edge of the mouth, a four-character reign mark reads “Made in the Zhengde reign” (Zhengde nian zhi). Plain tricolor porcelanous stoneware is usually glazed in yellow, green, and purple, sometimes with black and white as alternatives. It is called “plain” because of the absence of red. Nowadays, extant tricolor wares without red from the Zhengde reign are extremely rare. The craftsman applied glazes of different colors onto patterns that were carved on the body, and fired the ware at a relatively low temperature. Plain tricolor porcelain ware was created during the Chenghua reign (1465-1487) in Jingdezhen county, southeastern China’s Jiangxi province.