Four Afghan Steeds

These paintings, commissioned shortly before Castiglione's death, present detailed information about each of the horses, in four languages: Uyghur, Chinese, Manchurian and Mongolian.

[4] During the twelfth lunar month to the 28th year of the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1763)[5] the Afghan Emir Ahmad Shah Abdali donated by sending four excellent horses.

[5] He also sent an emissary to Beijing to present him with a diplomatic certificate in gold leaf containing information about this donation of purebred horses.

[1] The event came during uneasy Sino-Afghan relations and threats of war regarding Qing's expansion into Turkic Central Asia.

[7] The horses represented do not have an identifiable sex, which a contemporary French author attributed to the modesty of Castiglione, who received a Jesuit education.

[7] The hair and the bottom of the limbs of these horses appear to be dyed with henna, consistent with Afghan, Indian and Persian tradition.