Lot 1051. A large well-modeled straw-glazed Bactrian camel, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907). Estimate USD 30,000 – USD 50,000. © Christie's 2022

The camel shown standing foursquare on a rectangular platform and supporting between its two humps bulging saddle bags on which a small monkey stands on all fours.

Provenance: Galaxie Art (B. K. Wong), Hong Kong, 27 October 1989.

Note: A similar camel with a monkey seated, rather than standing four-legged, on the bags supported on the camel’s back, in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol. 8, Tokyo, 1982, no. 35. The inclusion of a monkey on the pack may be a whimsical notion, or may represent the trader's pet, or may represent part of the trade goods carried by the camels.

A slightly larger painted pottery figure of a camel and monkey rider was sold at Christie’s New York, 18 September 1997, lot 344.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 25 march 2022