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An extremely rare white jade 'geese' box and cover 18th/19th century image 1
An extremely rare white jade 'geese' box and cover 18th/19th century image 2
An extremely rare white jade 'geese' box and cover 18th/19th century image 3
Lot 9*

An extremely rare white jade 'geese' box and cover
18th/19th century

8 November 2012, 10:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £211,250 inc. premium

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An extremely rare white jade 'geese' box and cover

18th/19th century
Formed as a group of four geese clustered closely together, three with their necks outstretched and the fourth laying its head on the back of a neighbouring goose, one poised with spreading wings covering its neighbours and grasping a small leafy spray in its beak, all four geese divided horizontally across the body to form four separate compartments, the feet carefully webbed and standing amidst sprays of waterweed.
16.9cm (6 2/3in) long (2).

Footnotes

Provenance: Spink & Son, London, 29 November 1976

十八/十九世紀 白玉雕四鵝式蓋盒

來源: 於1976年11月29日購自倫敦Spink & Son

The wild goose was believed to mate for life, and thus became a popular symbol to express the desire for marital fidelity, peace and prosperity. Also recognised for its military tactics including flight formation, the goose was considered appropriate to identify fourth-rank officials from 1527 until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911.

A box of similar design but with eight geese and dated to the 18th century is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (no.FE57-1983), and is illustrated by M.Wilson, Chinese Jades, London, 2004, p.57.

Additional information

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