TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

The Bactrian camel was not indigenous to China, but was imported by the tens of thousands from the states of the Tarim Basin, Eastern Turkestan and Mongolia. They were used by the court and merchants for local transportation and the 'ships of the desert' linking China to the cities of central Asia, Samarkand, Persia and Syria.

A similar figure of a Bactrian camel with a fringed and splash-glazed blanket, and cream glaze on the heavy areas of hair in contrast to the amber body 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.