Q I have read that ceramic Tang dynasty camels are becoming as collectible as Tang horses. I didn't know they had camels in China. Do the same guidelines for horses apply to camels?
WHAT THE EXPERT SAYS:
'Before, collectors loved horses, but now they've changed to camels,' says Thomas Cheung, of Po Yuen Tong. 'A few years ago, there was a Sotheby's auction with some very nice camels that sold really well. After that, more people became interested in them.' Cheung says the ceramic pieces were created for burials. 'Like the Egyptians, the Chinese wanted to continue life after death,' he says. 'In a Tang tomb, there was usually a pair of horses and a pair of camels, but there were more horses. The rider is quite rare. Sometimes, they also had pottery forms of attendants, warriors, grooms, the famous Tang fat lady, and so on. Ordinary people didn't have them, and the best pieces came from the wealthy.'
TRADING PLACES
Cheung says camels came to China along the Silk Road. 'The riders on Tang camels are not Chinese,' he says. 'They're Mongolian and Persian traders. The faces are different, with high cheek bones, long noses and beards, and they dressed differently, too. Tang horses have Chinese and foreign riders.'
According to Cheung, the ceramic horses were also made in the Han, Northern Chi, Yuan and Ming dynasties. 'It's very easy to tell the difference,' he says. 'Han horses were very primitive, and people often ask if the Ming ones are toys. In the Qing, they preferred porcelain, and there were no more horses ... The latest camels come from the Yuan Dynasty and are made from black clay. The detail of the carving is the best. But people still prefer Tang.'
