A SUPERBLY CARVED IMPERIAL WHITE JADE RECUMBENT HORSE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

skilfully worked as a recumbent horse with its front legs gently bent and its head resting atop its front hooves, the muscular body rendered with taut haunches terminating in a long tail swept to its left, the narrow and long head detailed with a pair of wide and alert eyes, below its finely incised bifurcated mane, the stone of an even pale celadon-tinged white colour

A private English collection, by repute. 

The carving is in overal condition with just a minute bruise to the left ear of the horse as visible in the catalogue photo.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Skilfully modelled in the round, this powerfully carved jade carving belongs to a rare group of jade horses depicted in a reclining pose after prototypes made in the Song dynasty. The quality of the lustrous white stone, combied with pronounced articulation of the flaring facial expression and intricately incised mane, surpasses others of the period, strongly pointing to it being an imperial commission of the Qianlong court. A closely related Imperial white jade horse in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Zhongguo yuqi quanji, vol. 6, Shijiazhuang, 1991, pl. 267. Described as of Hetian jade, it is smaller than the current horse, and depicted turning its head back, but the treatment of the key features - the face, the mane, the precise movement on the hooves and tail - matches than of the current horse.

A woodblock print of a jade horse, modelled in a similar reclining pose, was included in the 18th century edition of the Gu yu tu pu [Collection of ancient jade drawing], attributed to the scholar Zhu Derun (1294-1365) and illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p. 368, fig. 1 (lower right).

For other jade horses carvings sold at auction, see the three jade horses carved in a similar pose, sold in our London rooms, the first, 11th December 1990, lot 66, the second, 8th December 1992, lot 66, and the third, 17th December 1996, lot 254; two were sold in our New York rooms, one from the collection of John T. Dorrance, Jr., 20th October 1989, lot 247, and the other, 10th November 1979, lot 353; and a further example was sold at Christie’s London, 11th May 2010, lot 124.

For earlier examples of jade horse carvings, see one excavated at a Jin site in Heilongjiang province, illustrated in Wenwu, 1977, no. 4, pl. 7:2; and one attributed between the Jin and Yuan dynasty, from the collection of Desmond Gure, included in the exhibition Chinese Jade Animals, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1996, cat. no. 126.