Horse

A playful horse has been carved from grayish-green jade with artificially colored brownish patches. The long muscular body is tensed on four bent legs, evoking suppressed strength. In an unusual view from the front, the horse strains its head to touch its hind leg, creating the only open space in the piece. The artisan paid greater attention to the form than to other details. The mane is embellished with long striated locks extending down the back of the neck, and the tail is rendered similarly.

Traditional horse paintings from the Song and Yuan periods were treasured by emperors, and the exotic breeds of horses sent in tribute from Central Asia to the Qing court were frequently reproduced in court art. Famous paintings by the Italian court artist Castiglione (1616–1670) depicted horses from all angles (front, back, side, and places in between) and in varied positions (coiled to spring, recumbent, bending over, crawling, and facing upward) (National Palace Museum, Taipei 1994, vol. 14, plates 35–37). Carvers—especially jade and bamboo cutters, who adventurously translated brush treatments into sculptures—also became intrigued with the subject and began to produce recumbent horses.