Celestial Horses
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1909.198
Tags
Charles Lang Freer collectionChinaChinese ArtMing dynasty (1368 - 1644)horseman
About this artwork
More than seventy horses in various poses and activities are depicted in this unusually long handscroll. Perhaps these are the fine horses of an imperial stable with equerries (officers of a prince or nobleman charged with the care of horses) training, feeding, and judging them. The act of judging horses was a metaphor of keen mental discernment in general, and it held strong symbolic overtones about a person's ability to distinguish human qualities as well.