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A finely carved recumbent horse shown with its head turned sharply over the left shoulder and four legs with hooves tucked under the belly, almond-shaped eyes, nostril and mouth softly moulded with ears standing upright, fine striations carved for both the mane and the tail, a package of two scrolls bound tightly with flowing ribbons and strapped around the middle torso, with reticulated rosewood stand of rolling waves, (without stand) length 3.5" — 8.9 cm.
Provenance:
From the collection of P. A. B. Widener, and thence by descent (according to dealer’s card)
From an important private collection, Canada
美國著名企業家 P. A. B. 懷德納珍藏
Note:
This rare example of a celadon horse carving is notable for its size as a piece of Qianlong celadon white jade. The colour retains a light green complexion in an overall white base. Each of the four legs are naturalistically rendered, gently sunken into the horse’s flank and belly, while still featuring prominent haunches and shoulders. The inclusion of a set of scrolls complete with flowing ribbon binding demonstrates the artist’s unrestricted agency in carving large amounts of quality jade from the piece. In addition, the piece has survived with an old rosewood stand, crafted specifically to snugly support the horse’s recumbent form as rolling waves swell from a narrow waist.
This type of jade horse carving was popularized beginning in the Song dynasty, standardized with four legs folded underneath the body and the head directly rear-facing. Two Song dynasty examples of this form are published in Chinese Jade Animals 《中國肖生玉雕》1997, Hong Kong Museum of Art 《香港藝術館》 plates 125 and 127, pages 144-147. However, the addition of scrolls strapped to the back is less commonly found.
The scrolls may represent the first Buddhist sutras to enter China, a narrative taking place in the Han dynasty. In compliance with Emperor Han Mingdi’s 漢明帝 vision of the Buddha, Buddhist monks were escorted from India into China, along with a white horse upon which the holy scriptures were mounted. The emperor subsequently commissioned the construction of the White Horse Temple 白馬寺 in the capital of Luoyang, which still stands today. However, together with the rosewood stand of swirling waves, this piece may be a reference to an older narrative revolving around a legendary horse sent by sea as a Mandate from Heaven. Carrying divine manuscripts and travelling via maritime route, the horse was sent to deliver a heavenly mandate to the emperor for a fair and virtuous rule, a testament to the emperor’s direct connection to heaven and unquestionable legitimacy of power. Another example of a jade horse carved complete with books and waves can be found in the Beijing Palace Museum 1995 publication on jade 《玉器(下)》 plate 90, page 110.
The scroll binding is crafted using a classical Chinese style of flowing ribbons. The mane is carved with fine, uniform striations neatly separated into bunches with a gentle ridge to delineate the crest of the neck. The tail is carved in a similar fashion, tucked neatly underneath the horse’s rear. Finer hairs line the bottom of the eye as bottom lashes.
Another example of a celadon white jade recumbent horse was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, October 8, 2010, lot 2798.