Central Asia camel and trader

The camel and rider show several characteristics of pottery sculpture of the second half of the 7th century.  By the early 8th century, the technique of using an internal iron armature had been abandoned in favour of modelling weight-bearing elements including legs as partly hollow tubes, which were lighter, stronger and easier to make.

As the groom in this room, both were produced for burial to accompany the deceased into the afterlife. Most of our knowledge of early Chinese ceramics is derived from the excavation of tombs, some of which were lavishly furnished with pottery figurines.