Tianma Archaic Style Stone Chinese Winged Horse

Very beautiful Chinese sculpture from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century in an archaic style Stone work carved in a single block Fineness of the sculpture, beautiful patina of the stone Probably representing Tianma, the winged horse present in Chinese mythology The legend of the celestial horse is told by the Chinese in many variants, all of which feature the young Cannü, whose father had been held prisoner by bandits for a year, while the stallion that served as his mount had returned to his home. Cannü took great care of the animal, which was also her father's last memory, and Cannü's mother promised her daughter's hand to anyone who brought her father back alive. The stallion disappeared one day and returned with the man he had freed. Cannü then regained his joy, but faced with the anger that the animal showed more each day, the mother of this one ended up revealing to her husband what promise she had made. The latter laughed at the idea of his daughter marrying his horse, and without saying anything to anyone, killed the animal with an arrow between the two eyes, skinned it and dried its skin. Cannü discovered the remains of the horse, which clung to its own body and carried it into the air. The parents later discovered the skin hanging from the branches of a mulberry tree and their daughter changed into a horse-headed caterpillar, devouring the leaves of the tree as her body grew. She secreted a thread that covered her completely, and her father knew that the stallion he had just killed was a god. The cocoon and the horse's skin eventually disappeared from the tree, and Cannü's parents thought their daughter lost forever when she reappeared riding the stallion from which wings had grown. Cannü had just found a place among the goddesses; she taught the production of silk to her parents who in turn transmitted this secret. FREE AND INSURED SHIPPING IN METROPOLITAN FRANCE