Tricolor Pottery Figurine of a West Asian Merchant Leading a Camel

“Hu people” is the collective name given to all northwestern minorities by the ancient Han Chinese people. It refers to not only the northwestern Chinese people but also those lived in Central and West Asia. During the Tang dynasty, the Silk Road linking the west and the east was in its prosperous time, with continuous flow of merchants. As the mount of the merchants and the vehicle for carrying goods, camels are known as “ferries in the desert”. This figurine was a burial object, reflecting the reality of the Tang dynasty.