Culture in the saddle

A young Louis XIV sits on horseback. Across the exhibition space, a Qing (1644-1911) emperor appears in riding attire. Between them are saddles, hunting scenes, sculptures and paintings reflecting two cultures’ long relationships with the same animal.

The juxtaposition is deliberate. “We wanted them to fit together within the overall narrative,” says

Sun Dongning, a researcher at the Prince Kung’s Palace Museum and curator of the exhibition.

For Sun, that narrative begins with the encounter between humans and horses. The idea of making objects speak to one another lies at the heart of Riding Into Reflection: A Sino-French Exhibition on Equine Culture, which opened on Aug 25 at Jiale Hall of the Prince Kung’s Palace Museum in Beijing.