Jade Tianma

[Jade Tianma]

Jade Tianma, Han, 4.2 cm high, 7.8 cm long and 2.6 cm wide
Green jade, with flocculent spots and grain cracks, and yellow spots can be seen locally. The round-shaped crouching horse has a slightly raised head, open mouth and exposed teeth, a lock of long mane hanging at the back of the head, a ridge on the back, and wings on the body. The muscles are full and energetic
The image of winged Tianma can be seen in ancient Chinese and western art. Tianma is produced in Central Asia. In the fourth year of Yuanding (113 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he first saw a BMW from Dawan. He was very fond of it, called it Tianma, and wrote poems and sang songs in person. Since then, two more expeditions have been sent to the West, with the aim of acquiring BMW in the Western Regions. Tianma has flourished for thousands of years from the Han Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty. The stone reliefs of the Han Dynasty, the stone carvings, paintings, and gold and silver wares of the Tang Dynasty have all left a beautiful image of Tianma, such as the famous six steeds of the Tang Zhaoling, and the paintings of Han Gan of the Tang Dynasty with horses as the theme. There are poems and articles singing about Tianma throughout the ages. In terms of the unearthed jade carving Tianma, there are only two cases before and after the Han Dynasty. One is the jade horse from the Warring States Tomb in Qufu, Shandong Province, and the other is the jade feather man’s imperial Tianma seen at the Weiling architectural site of the Western Han Dynasty in Xianyang, Shaanxi Province