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, 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. 

Provenance: a noble European private collection

The result of a thermoluminescence test, Oxford Authentication Ltd., No.C101z92 dated 14 November 2001, is consistent with the dating of this lot.

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Notes: 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 figures including attendants, officials and servants, were therefore 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. 

Bonhams. AUCTION 23237: FINE CHINESE ART, 10:30 BST - LONDON, NEW BOND STREET