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A GREY AND RUSSET JADE CARVING OF A HORSE  19th century (2) image 1
A GREY AND RUSSET JADE CARVING OF A HORSE  19th century (2) image 2
THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 紳士藏品
Lot 140Y

A GREY AND RUSSET JADE CARVING OF A HORSE
19th century

15 May 2025, 11:30 BST
London, New Bond Street

£3,000 - £5,000

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A GREY AND RUSSET JADE CARVING OF A HORSE

19th century
Naturalistically carved as a horse in a foursquare stance, gazing forward with an alert expression, finely detailed with incised manes, a hanging tail, almond-shaped eyes, and pricked ears, the stone of greyish celadon tone with white patches and natural fissures, with a fitted rosewood stand.
22cm (8 3/4in) long. (2).

Footnotes

十九世紀 玉馬

Provenance: Liberty & Co. Ltd., London, 1957 (invoice)
Spink & Son Ltd., London, 8 April 1976 (insurance valuation letter)
A Scottish private collection

來源: 倫敦古董商Liberty & Co. Ltd.,1957年(收據)
倫敦古董商Spink & Son Ltd.,1976年4月8日(保險評估信)
蘇格蘭私人收藏

The horse symbolises speed, perseverance, success, and nobility, carrying a wealth of auspicious meanings through homophones and idiomatic expressions. One of the most well-known is ma dao cheng gong (馬到成功), meaning 'success arrives with the horse,' a metaphor for swift and effortless victory. The horse also embodied the aspirations and struggles of literati scholars, representing their quest for a discerning ruler who would recognize their talents—much like the legendary Bo Le (伯乐), famed for his ability to identify extraordinary steeds.

See a related celadon jade recumbent horse, Qing dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection, Palace Museum, Taipei (acc.no.故玉000756N000000000).

See also a related pale celadon jade figure of a standing horse, 18th/19th century, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 30 May 2018, lot 556.

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