A Chinese sancai glazed dish; Liao dynasty

A sancai-glazed,foliate-rimmed, pottery dish from the Liao dynasty, of elongated barbed quatrefoil shape, the everted rim molded with a foliate scroll border glazed in amber, the interior impressed with three lotus blossoms in amber glaze, against a green ground molded with wave patterns, the unglazed base partially glazed in green and revealing a layer of white slip.
 
Based on a silver or gold prototype, the artisans who created these forms in pottery prove innovative in their use of molds and color.  The depth of the impression helped to control the viscous glaze, allowing it to pool in the recesses thus highlighting the design and to contain the colors within the impression.  Additionally the use of three vivid colors served to outline design elements and heighten the visual  appeal.
 
Two similar examples, one with a green ground and one with a white ground, were excavated in Xiaoliuzhangzi, Nincheng county, Inner Mongolia and datable to the 11th century, were exhibited and illustrated in Gilded Splendor, Treasures of China's Liao Empire, Asia Society and Museum, New York, 2006, pp. 358-359, cat. nos. 116a-b. 
 
Dimensions:  21 cm wide.
 
Condition; Good and free from repair. Some age related wear.
 
Provenance; from an old North Yorkshire, English, collection.