February 17 marks the start of the Chinese New Year which, in 2026, celebrates the Year of the Horse.
Every Chinese zodiac comes with its own mood and personality.
After the slower snake year of 2025, the horse is considered one of the most dynamic and spirited signs in the zodiac.
But 2026 is not just the Year of the Horse.
It is more specifically the dreaded Year of the Fire-Horse, which only occurs once every 60 years.
Superstition has it that girls born in this year, last seen in 1966, are so fiery that they either kill their future husbands or significantly shorten their lives.
So watch out anyone whose wife turns 60 this year!
In Chinese mythology, horses in general were associated with dragons, thought to be capable of flight and able to carry humans to the land of the immortals.
Think of the equine funerary figures of the Tang Dynasty.
In recent years we have seen some wonderful results for all types of Oriental objects in our salerooms.
A cracked vase kept in a loft, expected to make just £100, sold for £130,000 in our Derby saleroom after it was discovered to be a rare Ming treasure.
It had been inherited by two sisters from their great grandfather who worked in China in the early 20th century.
This is the route – via European tradespeople or diplomats – that many treasures of the East came to our shores.
Since then, they have been passed down the generations, with many current owners having no idea just how much they are worth.
Like this rare libation cup found in a garage. Or this blue and white Chinese pot, which was used as a doorstop and known to the family simply as “Aunt Beryl’s vase”, which sold for £800,000.
The reason the prices are soaring is because China’s growing wealth has created high net worth individuals who are keen to repatriate objects to their homeland and reclaim their country’s past.
