A superb small yellow green jade Mongolian horse Yuan-Ming dynasty | 元至明 黃玉馬把件

Northwick Park Collection.

Christie's, London, 24th May 1965, lot 97 (£2,510), as Yuan dynasty.

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Northwick Park 珍藏

倫敦佳士得，1965年5月24日，編號97 (2,510 英磅)，斷代為元。

The carver of this horse figure has produced a fine naturalistic sculpture, with the body skilfully fashioned and perfectly balanced. Small jade animal sculptures, generally carved in a reclining or seated pose, were made for the scholar’s studio and used as paperweights. For a related example, fashioned in a similar material and sculptural style, see a horse published in Gerard Tsang and Hugh Moss, Arts from the Scholar’s Studio, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1986, cat. no. 155, sold twice in our Hong Kong rooms, 20th May 1981, lot 886, and more recently 8th April 2013, lot 133, from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection. Compare also a small horse figure, in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, illustrated in James C.S. Lin, The Immortal Stone, London, 2009, cat. no. 47.

Further related examples include a yellow and brown jade horse carving illustrated in Jessica Rawson and John Ayers, ‘Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, 1973-75, vol. 40, pls. 203a and b, from the Sonnenschein collection in the Art Institute of Chicago; a green jade horse figure sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 14th December 1971, lot 38; and one from the collection of Mary and George Bloch, sold in these rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 77. See also a greenish yellow jade horse, from the collection of Dr. Ip Yee, included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. no. 163, together with three Tang dynasty horse carvings which may have served as inspiration for later examples, cat. nos. 131-133.

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本品造型秀雅，比例匀稱，展現玉匠巧藝，風格寫實自然。小型動物玉雕多作坐或臥姿，為文士書閣而製，用作鎮紙。比較一玉馬例，材質及雕刻風格與本品相近，載於曾柱昭及莫士撝，《文玩萃珍》，香港大學馮平山博物館，香港，1986年，編號155，兩度售於香港蘇富比，分別為 1981 年 5 月 20 日，編號 886，以及 2013 年 4 月 8 日，編號 133，來自水松石山房收藏。另可比較劍橋費茲威廉博物館收藏一小玉馬例，圖載林政昇，《The Immortal Stone》，倫敦，2009年，編號47。

芝加哥藝術學院藏黃褐玉馬，屬 Sonnenschein 舊藏，載於 Jessica Rawson 及 John Ayers，〈Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages〉，《Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society》，1973-75年，卷40，圖版203a及b，可資比對。還可參考一青玉馬，售於蘇富比1971年12月14日，編號38，以及瑪麗與莊智博舊藏玉馬，售於蘇富比2005年10月23日，編號77。葉義醫生典藏也有一黃玉馬，色略偏青，收錄於敏求精舍展覽《中國玉雕》，香港藝術館，香港，1983年，編號163。同展另有唐代玉馬三件，見編號131-133，或為唐代之後作例之靈感來源。