Page 306 - 2019 September 13th Christie's New York Important Chinese Works of Art

1076
A LARGE SANCAI-GLAZED POTTERY FIGURE OF A STRIDING BACTRIAN CAMEL
TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)
The camel is naturalistically modeled striding forward, with the neck arched strongly upwards and the
mouth agape revealing long pointed teeth and the tongue, and is covered in an amber glaze with cream
splashes on the neck, head and front legs. The saddle cloth is splashed with green, ochre and cream
glazes, and the protruding twin humps are highlighted in a cream glaze.
32 in. (81.3 cm.) high
$60,000-80,000

PROVENANCE
Winston Guest (1906-1982) Collection, New York.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York, 19 March 1962.

The Bactrian camel was not indigenous to China. Ezekiel Schloss, in Ancient Chinese Ceramic Sculpture,
Connecticut, 1977, vol. I, pl. 220, discusses the importation of tens of thousands of camels from the
states of the Tarim Basin, Eastern Turkestan, and Mongolia. The Tang state even created a special ofice
to supervise the imperial camel herds which carried out various state assignments, including military
courier service for the northern frontier. The camel was also used by the court and the merchants for
local transportation and, of course, were the ‘ships of the desert’ linking China to the oasis cities of
central Asia, Samarkand, Persia and Syria.
A similar fgure of a Bactrian camel with a fringed and splash-glazed blanket, and cream glaze on
the heavy areas of hair in contrast to the amber body, is illustrated by Mizuno in Toujitaikei, vol. 35,
Tousansai (Tang sancai), Heibonsha series, 1977, pl. 100. Another large braying fgure of a camel, but
with monster-mask packs, is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World’s Great Collections, vol. 5: The
British Museum, London, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 7. See, also, the similar fgure sold at Christie’s New York, 17
March 2017, lot 1136; another one sold at Christie’s Paris, 21-22 June 2016, lot 366; and the very similar
massive fgure sold at Christie’s Paris, 15 June 2005, lot 130.
唐 三彩駱駝

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