QING DYNASTY (1644-1911)

The carving style of the present horse group is inspired by the Western realistic painting style, which was introduced to the Qing court by artists such as Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766). Compare the present carving with a similar white jade horse group in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, p. 109, no. 89 (fig.1), which shares a similar realistic style.