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Lot Essay
The present figure of a foreign groom, with wide beard that frames the face, depicts the figure in the action of pulling on the reins of a horse or camel. For a similar groom see Li Zhi Yan, The Art of Glazed Pottery of China, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 36, no. 144.
The Tang dynasty marked a time when China engaged widely with countries throughout East, Southeast, and South Asia, facilitated by the development of the Silk Routes. Pottery figures of grooms, such as the present example, offer a fascinating view of the foreigners that were present in Chang’an in Tang times, particularly their facial features and clothing. It was fashionable in the seventh and eighth centuries to employ foreign grooms, and many pottery figures of camels are accompanied by foreign grooms. A rare example of a groom wearing ‘leopard skin’ trousers, formerly in the Max N. Berry Collections, was sold at Christie’s New York, 27 March 2026, lot 702.
The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C199n50 is consistent with the dating of this lot.
The Tang dynasty marked a time when China engaged widely with countries throughout East, Southeast, and South Asia, facilitated by the development of the Silk Routes. Pottery figures of grooms, such as the present example, offer a fascinating view of the foreigners that were present in Chang’an in Tang times, particularly their facial features and clothing. It was fashionable in the seventh and eighth centuries to employ foreign grooms, and many pottery figures of camels are accompanied by foreign grooms. A rare example of a groom wearing ‘leopard skin’ trousers, formerly in the Max N. Berry Collections, was sold at Christie’s New York, 27 March 2026, lot 702.
The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C199n50 is consistent with the dating of this lot.