Chinese Art | 中國藝術品
Chinese Art | 中國藝術品
A magnificent amber and straw-glazed pottery figure of a Bactrian camel, Tang Dynasty | 唐 白釉褐彩駱駝
Auction Closed
May 12, 12:32 PM GMT
Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
A magnificent amber and straw-glazed pottery figure of a Bactrian camel
Tang Dynasty
唐 白釉褐彩駱駝
realistically modelled standing four square on a rectangular base, with its the head turned back as the animal brays, revealing the applied tufts of hair on the underside of its neck, its the tail flicked over the right haunch, the humps flipped over in opposite directions, the long fur, tail and humps finely detailed with incised lines and covered with a vibrant amber glaze
Height 80 cm, 31 1/2 in.
Christie's New York, 1st June 1990, lot 140.
紐約佳士得1990年6月1日，編號140
This magnificent and large figure of a two-humped camel was made to accompany a wealthy deceased on his or her journey in the afterlife. It is a rare testimony of the flourishing trade in precious goods and animals that arrived in China from Central Asia during the Tang dynasty. The Bactrian camel was not indigenous to China but was used by Central Asian merchants to haul goods along the Silk Road. Sturdy and stubborn, resilient and enduring, Bactrian camels were treasured and valuable commodities, and large Imperial camel herds were established under the administration of a special bureau attached to the Tang court. Like Ferghana horses their ownership conveyed status and power in life and death.
The present camel is impressive for its particularly large size. A camel figure of almost the same size and colouring, also without a harness and saddle, was sold in Christie's New York, 21st March 2013, lot 1163. Another camel of similar colouring and size from the Mottahedah Collection, was sold in our New York rooms, 20th September 2000, lot 85.
The dating of this lot is consistent with the result of a thermoluminescence test, Oxford authentication Ltd., no. C110r25.