AN EXCEPTIONALLY LARGE PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A BACTRIAN CAMEL WITH RIDER, MONKEY AND SLAIN GOATS, TANG DYNASTY

Expert’s note:
The present lot is extremely rare for its exceptional size of 105 cm, with exceedingly few other examples of comparable height recorded in private or public collections.

China, 618-907. Realistically modeled, the camel with its raised head turned slightly to the left, its mouth exposing the animal’s sharp teeth and protruding tongue as if bellowing, the powerful expression marked by wide bulging eyes and flared nostrils, further detailed with laid-back ears and finely sculpted curling hair. The rider sits on several rolled mats beneath a red saddle blanket with a small monkey sitting beside him. The camel is further ladened with two flasks as well as two wild goats, the yield from the hunt.


Provenance:
From a noted private collection in Aix-en-Provence, France.

Condition:
Some restorations and touch-ups as generally expected from Tang dynasty excavations. Losses, fissures, and encrustations. Drilled holes from sample-taking. Overall, very good condition and displaying magnificently.

Scientific Analysis Report:

Scientific Analysis Report:
A thermoluminescence analysis report issued by QED Laboratoire, Reference QED1340/FC-0301, dated 10 October 2013, sets the firing date of two samples as consistent with the suggested period of manufacture in Tang dynasty. A copy of the report accompanies this lot.

Weight: 43.3 kg
Dimensions: Height 105 cm


The Tang dynasty is undoubtedly one of the most artistically exciting periods
in China's long history. The works of art are characterized by their diversity, the cosmopolitan nature of their design and the high technical skill employed in their manufacture as this pottery example amply demonstrates. In the first half of this dynasty, up to the An Lushan rebellion of 756, the level of luxury enjoyed by the court and the Tang elite ensured the production of a wide range of goods of the highest quality. As China prospered as a result of trade with the West along the famous Silk Road, camels became increasingly important for the transport of wares, since these impressive animals could carry heavy loads over long distances, surviving several days without water. As their large and broad feet did not sink easily into the sand, they became known as 'the ships of the desert'. Many camels were imported from the states of the Tarim basin, Eastern Turkmenistan and Mongolia and are known as Bactrian camels. The Tang civil servants created a special office to supervise their breeding and services. It seems that no pottery examples showing Chinese riders have been excavated. Perhaps only the Central Asian foreigners were able to tame and guide the camels.


Literature comparison:

Compare a related figure of a camel with a foreign rider in Hao Qian, et al., Out of China’s Earth: Archaeological Discoveries in the People’s Republic of China, Beijing, 1981, fig. 241. Compare a related camel and rider excavated from the tomb of Dugu Sijing, dated 709 AD, in Tang Chang’an Chengjiao Sui Tang mu, Beijing, 1980, pls. 65, 70-71.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s London, 5 November 2019, lot 4
Price: GBP 75,000 or approx.
EUR 99,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A massive painted pottery figure of a camel and rider, Tang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling with similar pose, detachable saddle bag (albeit with a different rider), and painted details. Note the much smaller size (78 cm).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 November 2017, lot 2919
Price: HKD 6,100,000 or approx.
EUR 772,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A finely painted pottery figure of a Bactrian camel and rider, Tang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling with a near-identical hat of the rider and a similar expression and curly mane of the camel. Note the much smaller size (60 cm).




唐代彩繪胡人騎駱駝陶俑


中國，618-907年。 駱駝背上的胡人深目、高鼻、絡腮鬍，雙眼緊盯前方，捲髮，頭戴氈帽，雙手似乎托著什麽，坐在幾個卷墊上，旁邊坐著一隻小猴子。駱駝體型高大、粗壯，張嘴作嘶鳴狀，四肢挺拔剛健，闊步向前。駱駝還馱著兩個瓶子和兩隻野山羊。


來源：
法國普羅旺斯地區艾克斯知名私人收藏。

品相：
一些小修，有缺損、裂縫和結殼，取樣鑽孔。狀況良好。

科學鑒定報告
:
QED實驗室於2013年年10月10日出具的熱釋光分析報告（編號QED1340/FC-0301），認爲兩個樣品的日期與建議的唐代製造時期一致。隨附一份報告副本。

重量：43.3 公斤
尺寸：高 105 厘米


文獻比較:

比較一件相近的胡人騎駱駝陶俑，《Out of China’s Earth: Archaeological Discoveries in the People’s Republic of China》，北京，1981年，圖241。比較一件相近的灰陶駱駝，出土於獨孤思敬墓（公元709年），見《唐長安城郊隋唐墓》，北京，1980年，圖65, 70-71。


拍賣比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：倫敦佳士得，2019年11月5日，lot 4
價格：GBP 75,000（相當今日
EUR 99,000
）
描述：唐胡人騎駱駝陶佣
專家註釋：比較非常相近模型、相似的姿勢，可拆卸馬鞍包(儘管騎手不同)，以及彩繪細節。請注意尺寸較小 (78 厘米)。


拍賣比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港佳士得，2017年11月29日，lot 2919
價格：HKD 6,100,000（相當今日
EUR 772,000
）
描述：唐彩繪陶駱駝及騎駝俑
專家註釋：比較非常相近模型 、騎手有幾乎相同的帽子和相似的表情，以及駱駝的捲曲鬃毛。請注意尺寸較小 (60 厘米)。