| This free-standing figure of a horse is considered an excellent example of jade sculpture. Facing forward, the horse has short legs, a thick neck and a muscular physique, with a bulging chest and a round belly and rump. The musculature of the horse's body is articulated with winding and varied cloud patterns, which have been outlined and then indented. Unearthed from Cemetery of Marquises of Jin state, Quwo, Shanxi Province in 1993, this figure is a work of the early Western Zhou dynasty. The climate of North China was cold and dry, which made it a suitable habitat for horses, and the model for this jade sculpture may well have been a domesticated horse of the period. |
