Terracotta figure of Tan camel and rider

During the Tang Dynasty the trade route known as the Silk Road flourished. Most of the overland trade between China and the West was carried out by Central Asian and Near Eastern merchants. Indicative of the trade route's incredible breadth, two-hump Bactrian camels were preferred to the single-hump Arabian camels as they were more capable of traveling father distances. Figures of these camels were likely modeled for persons of rank and means. Given its choice as the primary method of transporting goods along the Silk Road, the camel's presence both in life and in the afterlife connoted abundance and prosperity.