Page 10 - Bonhams May 12 16 London

THE PROPERTY OF A NOBLEMAN 男爵藏品
2 WT
A VERY LARGE POTTERY MODEL OF A CAMEL AND RIDER
Tang Dynasty
The two-hump camel modelled striding with left legs forward, neck
raised and mouth gaping open to reveal tongue and teeth above the
mottled hairy beard, the simple saddle modelled separately and further
laden with a separate layer of travel supplies including hanging flasks, figures including attendants, officials and servants, were therefore
rolled blankets and rabbits, the foreign rider perched above his goods
wearing a stippled fur jerkin opening to reveal a small paunch, the
bearded face looking directly ahead with determined expression below
the exotic peaked cap, the left arm outstretched as if to hold reins.
Overall 85cm (33 1/2in) high (3).
£12,000 - 15,000 CNY110,000 - 140,000
HK$130,000 - 160,000
唐 陶胎彩繪胡人騎駱駝俑
Provenance: a noble European private collection
來源： 歐洲貴族私人收藏
The result of a thermoluminescence test, Oxford Authentication
Ltd., No.C101z92 dated 14 November 2001, is consistent with the
dating of this lot.
8 | BONHAMS
Handsome, imposing and exotic camels such as the present lot are
of great scholarly importance as well as being highly decorative. Much
of the evidence of Tang dynasty life comes from archaeological pieces
from tomb excavations which bear witness to fear of death as well as
a desire to recreate the lifestyle and comforts experienced in this life.
Impressive beasts such as this camel, as well as horses and other
required to accompany the deceased on his journey in the afterlife.
The two-humped Bactrian camel was an exotic beast known in
China from the Han dynasty, when it was first introduced as a form
of tribute offered by the tribes of Turkestan and Central Asia. Prized
for their ability to survive extreme hardships of heat, cold and lack of
water when travelling across the desert, camels came to symbolise
the freely-flowing trade established along the Silk Road and thus the
wealth and cosmopolitan nature of the Tang Court. It is no coincidence
that the rider of the present camel is clearly of foreign demeanour and
clothing, and sits atop heavily-laden saddle bags. The rider, with his
distinctive hat and fur coat, worn skin-side out, probably represents
a Sogdian merchant. In addition, 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, adding
military authority to the significance of the camel.
Examples of Tang dynasty camels, both unglazed and with sancai
glaze, are in important museum collections including the British
Museum, Musée Guimet and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
For a comparable figure of a camel with Central Asian rider see Hao
Qian, et al., Out of China’s Earth: Archaeological Discoveries in the
People’s Republic of China, Beijing 1981, fig.241. For another related
group of grey pottery camels excavated from the tomb of Dugu Sijing,
dated AD 709, see Tang Chang’an chengjiao Sui Tang mu (Excavation
of the Sui and Tang Tombs at Xi’an), Bejing, 1980, pls.65, 70-71.
An unglazed pottery camel with a female rider, of very similar
dimensions and with similar caparisons, Tang dynasty, was sold at
Sotheby’s New York on 20 March 2002, lot 56, and another example
with a male rider was sold in the same sale, lot 55.