A PALE CELADON JADE ‘HORSE AND MONKEY’ GROUP, 18TH-19TH CENTURYChina. Depicting a recumbent horse, its head turned backwards, the legs tucked under the body, the tail curling upwards, a monkey climbing up the horse’s neck and holding a peach in his left paw, the mane and tail neatly incised, and pierced with two apertures at the horse’s tail. The translucent stone of a pale celadon tone with few light gray specks.Provenance: From an old private collection in the United Kingdom, acquired in Shanghai and Hong Kong from the 1930s onwards, and thence by descent in the same family.Condition: Excellent condition with only minor wear and microscopic nicks here and there.Weight: 33.2 gDimensions: Length 4.2 cmIndividually, the monkey symbolizes cleverness and agility while the horse represents strength and speed. The depiction of a monkey on a horse’s back represents the rebus ‘Ma shang feng hou’ which may be translated as ‘May you receive a swift promotion to a high rank of office’. This popular motif would have been used to confer good wishes to ambitious individuals within officialdom.Auction resultparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Christie’s New York, 18 March 2016, lot 1687Price: USD 10,000 or approx.EUR 12,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A small white jade horse and monkey group, 18th centuryExpert remark:pare the closely related form, motif, and color of the jade. Note the size (6.8 cm).Auction resultparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 26 May 2021, lot 547Price: HKD 56,700 or approx.EUR 7,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A pale celadon and russet jade 'horse and monkey' group Qing dynasty, 18th - 19th centuryExpert remark:pare the closely related form, motif, and size (5.1 cm). Note the russet patches.Auction resultparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2018, lot 583Price: HKD 137,500 or approx.EUR 18,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A white jade 'horse and monkey' group, Qing dynasty, 19th centuryExpert remark:pare the closely related form, motif, and color of the jade. Note the size (6.4 cm).十八至十九世紀青白玉《馬上封侯》擺件中國。青白玉精心雕琢而成，玉質細膩，質地上乘。題材為“馬上封侯”，馬呈臥狀，向後望，猴趴在馬背，與馬頭搭配協調，馬尾處鏤空。細條流暢。淺青色半透明玉料，輕微淺灰色斑點。