Lot 195

In good condition with a natural firing crack running at the top of the left front leg / shoulder, areas with potential indications of early painting / restoration at multiple points, hollowed out at base, natural scratches and chips to surface consistent with age


The opinions expressed in the condition reports are a guide only and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Prospective buyers are encouraged to inspect articles for sale at our pre-sale viewing where Leonard Joel staff are available for advice.
Leonard Joel makes no guarantee of the originality of mechanical or applied components. Absence of reference to such modifications does not imply that a lot is free from modifications.

Ex Sotheby's, Melbourne, 23 October, 1990, Lot 194; originally one of a pair sold from a Private Collection, Ex Sotheby's, London, 10 June, 1986, Lot 9

This figure has been written about in a number of articles, including the Financial Review, 25/10/1990 and The Age 20/10/1990.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the domestic two-humped bactrian camel had already been used by the Chinese for at least a thousand years. They were valuable animals, sought after for their reliability to courier men and merchandise along the silk route as the 'ships of the desert'. Private gentlemen of means often kept camels as a sign of their wealth and position. Tomb figures such as this camel were used by the imperial elite to provide for the afterlife.
Reference: For similar, please see: Christie's New York, 17 March 2017; Christie's, New York, 18 September, 1997, Lot 131; Sotheby's, New York, 16 September, 2008, Lot 96; a similar figure of a Bactrian camel is illustrated by Mizuno in Toujitaikei, vol. 35, Tousansai (Tang sancai), Heibonsha series, 1977, pl. 100. See, also, the similar figure of slightly larger size (83 cm.) sold at Christie's Paris, 15 June 2005, lot 130; a camel of the same model from the Edward T Chow Collection was included in the Exhibition of Chinese Tomb Pottery Figures, University of Hong Kong, 1953, Catalogue No D33.