Lot 51. A painted pottery figure of a Bactrian camel, Northern Wei dynasty (386-534); 22cm high. Sold for €7,040 inc. premium. © Bonhams 2001-2023

Standing firmly four-square on a rectangular base, its head looking forward, with gaping nostrils, lips bared and wide eyes, carrying wooden slats on each side of his heavy body, supporting a saddle over its two humps, traces of pigments.

Provenance: Acquired in Paris by the grandfather of the present owners before 1935, and thence by descent.

Note: Camels arrived in China in the Han period. With the expansion of the empire to the North and West during the Tang dynasty, and the arrival of foreign traders and tribute bearers from Central Asia, camels were quickly adopted and used to carry heavy goods along vast distances. A very similar sleek model of a Bactrian camel, acquired from Yamanaka & Co. in 1928 by the Metropolitan Museum in New York (acc.no.1928.121), shares similar plain, rounded features with the present Bactrian camel.

Bonhams Cornette de Saint-Cyr. CHINESE ART, 13 June 2023, Paris, Avenue Hoche