Jade finial of mandarin duck and lotus, late Ming dynasty, China, 1550-1644. Artist: Unknown

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Jade finial of mandarin duck and lotus, late Ming dynasty, China, 1550-1644. A white jade finial (with four holes in the bottom for attachment) carved as a mandarin duck sitting on a lotus leaf. The bird holds in its beak a spray of lotus flower and leaf and water weeds, all in delicate tracery. The mandarin duck, which mates for life, was a symbol of marital fidelity in China and a very popular subject in Chinese art.

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Size: 2831px × 2214px
Location:
Photo credit: © The Museum of East Asian Art/Heritage Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 16th, 17th, art, artefact, artifact, arts, asian, bird, birds, carved, carving, century, china, chinese, color, colour, concept, country, duck, ducks, dynasty, east, fidelity, flower, flowers, jade, location, lotus, mandarin, ming, museum, nature, object, plant, seventeenth, sixteenth, symbol, unknown, white