Only Chinese version is available
Laden camel with painted decoration
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Year
Tang dynasty (618 – 907)
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Media
Ceramics
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Dimensions
Height: 57 cm
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Museum No.
HM1997.11.116
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Description
Zhang Qian (? – 114 BCE) was sent by the Han emperor as an envoy to the Western Regions (Central Asia today). His mission marked the beginning of the transcontinental route later known as the Silk Road. It gradually developed into an important conduit connecting Europe and Asia. The journeys made by merchants, monks and missionaries over the subsequent centuries facilitated cultural exchanges and amity among the peoples along the route. Trade flourished, and merchants used camels to transport precious metals and stones, spices, wooden products and cotton fabric from Europe and Central Asia to sell in Central China, then silk and ceramics from China to sell back home.
Camels, therefore, played an important role in trade between the East and the West. Since camels could carry heavy loads and were able to withstand the drought and sandstorms along the way, they became the major means of transport on the Silk Road, which earned them the nickname “the ship of the desert”.
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—Collection of Hong Kong Heritage Museum, donated by The Tsui Art Foundation
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