Figurine in the Form of a Camel Carrying a Palanquin and Two Riders

Unknown

12th–early 13th century · Stonepaste; molded in sections, glazed in turquoise · Islamic Art

Camel-rearing traditions may explain their frequent appearance in twelfth-century arts and their praise in mystical poetry. It has been suggested that Turkmen tribes bred hybrids of one- and two-humped camels and their southward migration and foundation of the Great Seljuq state was prompted, beyond an unstable political situation, by a climate change unfavorable to this occupation.

Artist

Unknown

Date

12th–early 13th century

Medium

Stonepaste; molded in sections, glazed in turquoise

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Fletcher Fund, 1964