Lot 491. A very large pottery model of a camel and 'foreign' rider, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 85cm (33 1/2in) high. Est: £4,000 - £6,000. Sold for £ 21,500 (€ 25,049). © Bonhams

The two-hump Bactrian camel modelled striding with right 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 and rolled blankets, the foreign rider perched above his goods, the bearded face looking ahead with determined expression below the exotic peaked cap, both arms outstretched to hold reins, wood stand.

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Roger Keverne Ltd., Summer Exhibition, London, 2006, no.31.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no.C201b83 dated 6 December 2001, is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Note: A related example of a pottery camel and rider was unearthed from the tomb of Wang Chen (buried 679) in Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, in 1954, and is illustrated by Yu Weichao, A Journey into China's Antiquity, vol.3, Beijing, 1997, pp.66-67, no.58. See also a figure of a groom wearing a similar pointed felt hat, in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, illustrated by E.Schloss, Foreigners in Ancient Chinese Art, New York, 1969, no.4.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021