Page 146 - Christie's, Important Chinese Works of Art, Hong Kong Dec 3 2021

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A CREAM AND AMBER-GLAZED POTTERY 唐 褐釉駱駝
FIGURE OF A CAMEL 來源
TANG DYNASTY (618-907) 埃斯肯納齊，紐約，1999 年
The camel is realistically modelled standing foursquare, with two 巴黎佳士得，2015 年 6 月 9 日，拍品 371 號
tall humps swaying to either side of the body, and its head titled
upwards and its mouth help open to reveal it curled tongue and 展覽
sharp teeth. It is covered in a glaze of straw tone, with the humps, Eskenazi Ltd. 在 Pace Wildenstein，紐約，1999 年
neck and legs picked out in streaked dark chestnut. 出版
34¬ in. (88 cm.) high
埃斯肯納齊，紐約，《Ancient Chinese bronze and ceramics》，
HK$500,000-800,000 US$65,000-100,000 1999 年 3 月 23 日 -4 月 3 日，圖錄圖版 16 號

PROVENANCE 本拍品經牛津熱釋光測年法測試（測試編號 C199F73；1999 年 3 月 12
Eskenazi, New York, 1999 日），證實與本圖錄之斷代符合。
Sold at Christie’s Paris, 9 June 2015, lot 371

EXHIBITED
Eskenazi Ltd. at Pace Wildenstein, New York, 1999
LITERATURE
Eskenazi, Ancient Chinese bronzes and ceramics, New York,
23 March – 3 April 1999, no. 16
The current camel is rare and impressive due to its large size. Bactrian
camels were not originally from China. See Ezekiel Schloss, Ancient
Chinese Ceramic Sculpture, Stamford, Connecticut, 1977, vol. I, pl.
220, where he discusses the import of tens of thousands of camels
from the states of the Tarim Basin, Eastern Turkestan and Mongolia.
The Tang state even created a special 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.
For other large braying camels standing foursquare, with various
stylistic differences, but monster-mask packs, see Tang Sancai,
Heibonsha Series, Japan, 1977, vol. 35, fig. 101; Sekai toji zenshu, Tokyo,
1961, vol. 9, pl. 126; and S. Valenstein, The Herzman Collection of
Chinese Ceramics, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1992,
no. 22
Oxford thermoluminescence test no. C199F73, 12 March 1999, is
consistent with the dating of this lot.

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