Tang sancai is the name of the multicolored glazed pottery made during the Tang dynasty.
The term sancai literally means “three colors,” although surviving pieces can display more than three hues. The characteristic palette commonly combines yellow, green, and brown or amber glazes, sometimes with blue. These lead-glazed ceramics were produced during the Tang period, especially from the seventh to the eighth centuries.
Tang sancai objects included figurines, vessels, horses, camels, and tomb furnishings. Many examples were made for burial contexts, where ceramic models represented people, animals, buildings, and goods thought to accompany the deceased.
Sancai is a glaze tradition rather than a single object shape. It should not be confused with celadon, whose defining appearance is a blue-green glaze, or with later European imitations. The vivid surfaces and funerary imagery make Tang sancai especially important for understanding Tang-period material culture and international exchange.