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拍品專文
This fine example of Tang dynasty pottery would have been made for the tombs of the Tang elite. Such figures, which would have been very expensive to purchase, provided an obvious indication of the wealth of a family who could afford to inter such costly goods with their deceased relative. Not surprisingly, camels have been found among the burial items in a number of Tang Imperial tombs, as well as some of those belonging to other members of the Tang nobility.
The two-humped Bactrian camel was known in China as early as the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), having been brought from Central Asia and Eastern Turkestan as tribute. The camel was used by the court and the merchants to transport Chinese goods across the difficult terrain of the Silk Route to the eager markets of Central Asia, Samarkand, Persia and Syria. They carried, on their return journeys, many of the exotic luxuries from the west that were desired by the sophisticated Tang court.
The two-humped Bactrian camel was known in China as early as the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), having been brought from Central Asia and Eastern Turkestan as tribute. The camel was used by the court and the merchants to transport Chinese goods across the difficult terrain of the Silk Route to the eager markets of Central Asia, Samarkand, Persia and Syria. They carried, on their return journeys, many of the exotic luxuries from the west that were desired by the sophisticated Tang court.