Page 212 - Sotheby's Speelman Collection Oct. 3, 2018

3459

A JADE FIGURE OF A HORSE 宋至元 玉臥馬

SONG – YUAN DYNASTY

depicted recumbent with its legs neatly tucked beneath its
body, the head rendered with a meticulously combed mane
and turned backwards, the body subtly defined with taut
muscles and a pronounced spine terminating in a finely
incised tail curled along the length of its left haunch, the stone
of a pale greyish-celadon colour extensively accentuated with
dark inclusions
7.7 cm, 3 in.
HK$ 500,000-700,000
US$ 64,000-89,500

A sense of subtle movement is captured through the
incorporation of the natural russet inclusions of the stone,
which have been skilfully used to render the fur of the animal
and create an attractive contrast to the luminous yellow stone.
While horses have long been associated with power and
wealth in China, as those most sought after were imported
or sent as tribute gifts from Central Asia, jade carvings of
horses in reclining poses first appeared in the Jin (1115-1234)
and Yuan dynasties (1279-1368), such as one in the British
Museum, London, illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade
from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 26:15, where
the author notes that these carvings have been traditionally
attributed to the Tang dynasty (618-907) despite the lack of
similar excavated examples.
For representations of horses in different poses in
contemporaneous paintings and wood block illustrations,
which are known from the Yuan dynasty, see for example the
painting Eight Horses on Pasture Enjoying their Freedom by
Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), published Osvald Sirén, Chinese
Painting. Leading Masters and Principles, vol. 6, London,
1958, pl. 15.

210 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比