Lanolin white jade presented creamy whiteness, delicate quality, and mild sleekness. It was the most precious breed among white jade from Hotan and regarded as king of nephrite.
This ancient white jade presented a crouching horse facing back. The horse had trait of upright ears. Four strong legs showed that one left foreleg stepped on floor and other three legs lied under the belly. The long tail on right side of the body was in curve. There was a monkey standing on the horse back. The horse and monkey applied tube boring method for round eyes which has upward canthus. The horse had open mouth and revealed teeth. It seemed like talking to the monkey. The vivid sculpture fully expressed amusing taste.
“Monkey on horse back” in Chinese was a common subject for jade carving and means blessing upon official success.
This sculpture adopted carving methods, such as round carving (Alto-rilievo), relief, openwork carving, and intaglio carving. The horse eyes used tube boring and pared by handiwork. The horse mane was carved with tiny and order intaglio lines. Base-relief carving skill was applied on neck and legs, and performs vivid muscle.
(Magnification of ooze-color and calcification at horse mane)
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