TANG DYNASTY

細節

A grey pottery figure of a bactrian camel
Tang dynasty
The braying animal naturalistically modelled with a loose saddle surmounted by a foreign rider, black beard and moustache, wearing a pointed cap and holding a parrot in his right hand, covered in white slib and traces of black, red pigment, some restoration
67 cm. high

注意事項

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拍場告示

Please note that this lot has been illustrated on the left end of the bottom image on page 92 in the printed catalogue.

拍品專文

The two-humped Bactrian camel was known in China as early as the Han dynasty, having been brought from Central Asia and Eastern Turkestan as tribute. Its amazing ability to survive the hardships of travel across the Asian deserts was soon recognised and Imperial camel herds were established under the administration of a special Bureau. These Imperial camel herds, numbering several thousand, were used for a range of state duties, including the provision of a military courier service for the Northern Frontier. Camels were not only prized as resilient beasts of burden, their hair was also used to produce a cloth, which, then as now, was admired for its lightness and warmth.
This rider with somewhat caricatured features represents one of the many ethnic groups that could be found working in China during the Tang period, and reflects the sophisticated and worldly Chinese fascination for foreigners and all things foreign. The use of a falcon for hunting was common practise in China during the Tang period

The dating of this lot is consistent with the result of the Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test number.