Tricolor Pottery Figurine of a Camel

The camel has two humps, round eyes, and an open mouth as if bellowing. It stands on a rectangular base. The head, neck, humps, and saddle pad (a blanket under the saddle) are glazed. Parts of the head, neck, and humps are painted brown. The saddle pad is glazed in green and brown and ornamented with rhombic patterns, medallions, and tassels along the rim. The body and legs of the camel are unglazed.
The two species of camel are the dromedary (one-humped) and the Bactrian (two-humped). The latter inhabits Central Asia and China. Earlier Chinese images of these creatures appeared in the Eastern Han period (25-220) on brick carvings in Sichuan Province. With frequent cultural exchanges in the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, the camel became a prevalent theme especially in tricolored glazed pottery in the Tang dynasty.