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A LARGE AND MAGNIFICENT SANCAI-GLAZED BRAYING BACTRIAN CAMEL
纽约 北京时间
09月16日 晚上9点 开拍 / 09月14日 下午3点 截止委托
拍品描述
PROPERTY FROM THE ALAN AND SIMONE HARTMAN COLLECTION A LARGE AND MAGNIFICENT SANCAI-GLAZED BRAYING BACTRIAN CAMEL Tang Dynasty Striding forward on a shaped base with neck raised high and mouth held open in a braying motion, a wax-resist sancai glazed saddle cloth with pie-crust edge, pierced and laid over the two shaggy-fur humps that lean to left and right, the tops of the humps, the neck fur, mane and thighs also under a dark black-brown glaze the body amber glaze and with green glaze dribbling from the saddle cloth. 31 1/4 x 20 1/2 x 9 3/4in (82 x 53.2 x 24.7cm) Footnotes 唐 大件三彩駱駝 Superbly modeled with an arched neck and mouth open wide as it brays, the Hartman camel is an iconic example of sancai sculptures created during the Tang dynasty. The extraordinary sense of realism, conveyed by the forward moving posture, enhanced by the strong and slender legs, highly detailed with tendons and naturalistic tufts of dark fur, and the tall humps gently swaying to either side of the body, shows a remarkable degree of observation on the sculptor's part which is rarely otherwise encountered on figures of this period to this extraordinary degree. The splendid figure was individually sculpted and would have been extremely expensive to produce, commissioned exclusively for the internment of an elite member of the Tang society, symbolizing the continuation of wealth and social status in the afterlife. Ancestors in China were deemed guardians and active participants to the life of their living offsprings, if provided with continuous care. Thus the tomb chambers were often painted with servants, gardens and buildings, and the burial content filled with life-like models and a variety of necessities, as if creating a living quarter for the deceased. The earliest appearance of burial goods in ancient China were ritual jade carvings from the Neolithic period such as Hongshan and Liangzhu cultures. Ritual bronze food and wine vessels became mainstream in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, when the vessels served as a medium to communicate with gods and ancestors. By the time when Qin Shihuangdi (259-210 BC), the First Emperor of China, was building his own mausoleum, a terracotta army was reproduced in greater than life-size figures and strategically placed surrounding the main tomb which remains undisturbed today. As Sima Qian (d. 86 BC), China's most celebrated historian, has noted, Qin Shihuangdi's burial chamber resembles a microcosm that encloses a palace with flowing mercury rivers and heavenly creatures. Burial arrangements were restricted by the social standing of the deceased and guarded by the state governance. By the Tang dynasty, the burials constructed for the highest-ranking members of the society would include a group of thirteen large sancai pottery figures: two earth spirits, two lokapalas, two civil officials, two horses, two camels, and three grooms. The figures would have been placed at the entrance of the main burial chamber, guarding a wealth of luxury vessels and personal ornaments made of gold, silver, textile, and other precious materials. In appearance, the Hartman camel recalls the Bactrian camel, which was imported into China from the areas of the Tarim Basin, eastern Turkestan and Mongolia. This species was highly regarded by the Tang emperors who established dedicated offices to oversee the imperial camel herds. Referred to as the 'ships of the desert', camels endured hot temperatures and were the essential vehicle of transport for merchants wishing to conduct trade with the oasis cities of Central Asia, such as Samarkand, Bukhara and Isfahan, along the trading routes of the Silk Road. Vast riches poured into the Tang capital, Chang'an (present day Xi'an, Shaanxi province), from the Silk Road. Merchants came from far afield to acquire silk, bamboo and lacquer wares, and imported perfumes, horse and jewels. Different types of food, spices, and wines were also imported in Tang China, as well as exotic musical genres, fashions and literary styles. In the arts, many foreign shapes such as amphoras, bird-headed ewers, rhyton cups, and decorative motifs such as hunting scenes, floral medallions, garlands, swags, scrolling vines and Buddhist symbols, were imported from Central Asia and the Middle East. The recent excavation of thirty-seven tax receipts, recording approximately 600 payments, made in a year at a tax office outside Turfan (present-day Xinjiang Autonomous Region), testifies to the fast pace of trading activities during the Tang dynasty. Chang'an's two main markets, referred to as the Eastern and the Western Market, both filled with shops, eateries and tea houses, and additional trading centers were established in the proximity of its main gates. The animated attitude of this remarkable camel is reminiscent of the running camels vividly depicted on the murals of Crown Prince Zhanghuai's tomb (d. 684), in Qianxian, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, painted in A.D. 706 and 711, illustrated in Out of China's Earth: Archaeological Discoveries in People's Republic of China, Beijing, 1981, pl. 258. Compare also with the large Tang dynasty sancai camel, similarly modeled in mid-stride and with a saddle suspending mask-shaped sacks over a pleated cushion, from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated by William Watson, The Arts of China to AD 900, Yale, 1995, p. 231, fig. 373. Another Tang dynasty sancai camel modeled in a similar posture as the present one, is in the collection of the British Museum, accession number 1936.1012.228, illustrated on the museum's website. Another magnificent camel is illustrated by Wan-go Weng and Yang Boda, The Palace Museum: Beijing, 1982, col. pl. 140. For another massive-sized camel in this posture and equipped with a saddle bag, see Sotheby's New York, 19 March 1997, lot 202. A sancai-glazed camel bearing goods on its pannier, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3305; another was sold in Christie's New York, 20 September 2005, lot 191. The results of thermoluminescence tests are consistent with the dating of this piece, Oxford Authentication certificate C123p17, 4 December 2023. Lot Symbols W For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing

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拍品估价:30,000 - 50,000 美元 起拍价格:30,000 美元  买家佣金:
落槌价 佣金比率
0 - 50,000 28.00% + VAT
50,000 - 1,000,000 27.00% + VAT
1,000,000 - 6,000,000 21.00% + VAT
6,000,000 - 以上 14.50% + VAT
服务费:平台服务费为成交总金额(含佣金)的3%,最低200元

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