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Country of Origin: Tan'g
China
Date of Origin
Tang Dynasty late 8th century
Use: Funeral
figure.
JBOC Comments:
Auction Catalogue Description:
FINE
CHINESE CERAMICS & WORKS OF ART
SALE N07917 LOT 37
SESSION 1 | 17 Sep 03 10:15 AM.
New York
AN EXTRAORDINARY AND MONUMENTAL GREY POTTERY
GROUP OF BACTRIAN CAMEL, RIDERS AND DOGS
EARLY TANG DYNASTY
150,000—200,000 USD
Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium:
176,000 USD
MEASUREMENTS
36 1/4 by 31 5/8 in. (92 by 80.5 cm), condition
report available
DESCRIPTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
the powerfully modelled beast striding forward,
its neck twisting back in a dynamic arc as if
reined sharply in by its rider while its bulging
eyes and widely braying mouth betray its loud and
agitated protest, the straining slender legs
accented by boldly delineated tendons and deftly
modelled tufts of hair, with a separate
saddle-blanket and harness of long poles slung
along its high humps, finely shaped to bow
beneath its heavy burden, the bearded trader with
arrogant and rather indifferent expression seated
up on a fringed fur rug atop a bulging saddlebag
slung with numerous pilgrim flasks, bolsters and
game, his young son seated behind with one leg
bent under and the other outstretched to balance
his backward lean as the father's arm tugs at the
reins, the group further enlivened by two small
puppies, one almost falling off as its paws
clutch the man's long jacket, the other safely
tucked under his arm, with ample accents of
ochre, white and pink pigments overall (3)
CATALOGUE NOTE
The rider appears to originate from the West,
attested by his non-Chinese physiognomy, and is
most likely a Sogdian trader, although the cap he
wears is not the more typical pointed cap. The
rendering of this camel is very similar,
particularly in its manes and facial
characteristics, to the outstanding pair bearing
a foreign merchant, his son and pet monkeys, sold
in these rooms, March 20, 2002, lot 56.
All appear to be closely related members of a
group of Tang pottery figurines made of gray
pottery, often including foreign grooms or camel
drovers with broad faces, bold features and
prominent chubby cheeks, their hair pulled back
and parted in the middle and wearing furs
inside-out; see, for example, four grooms from
the tomb of Dugu Sijing and his family, who died
in AD 709, in Tang Chang'an chengjiao Sui Tang mu
/ Excavation of Sui and Tang Tombs at Xi'an,
Beijing, 1980, pls. 65 left and right, and two
camels, pls. 70 and 71.
The dating of this lot is consistent with the
results of a thermoluminescence test, Oxford
Authentication Ltd., C103b94.
Seen on www.Sothebys.com
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