清　玉雕牧童水牛|Boy with water buffalo

Unknown

18th century · Jade (nephrite) · Asian Art

Auspicious symbols and visual puns expressing good wishes are recurring themes in Chinese decorative art. A delightful example is this white nephrite sculpture that depicts a small boy gently prodding his companion, a large water buffalo, with a stalk of rice. The ears of rice symbolize a good harvest and rhyme with the Chinese word for “year” (sui), thus implying the wish for “a good harvest year after year” (sui sui nian feng).

Artist

Unknown

Date

18th century

Medium

Jade (nephrite)

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Heber R. Bishop, 1902