Goose

Object Details

• Label

  The naturalism and simplicty of this jade pebble suits "scholars' taste," which typically tries to attain a goal of understated elegance and harmony with nature. The artisan studied a raw piece of jade and took a cue from its shape to decide on the subject matter of a goose. He demonstrated exceptional skill by creating a convincing sculpture that required relatively little reworking of the stone. In a gesture of unexpected thoroughness—or humor—the carver completed his image by rendering the goose's webbed feet on the underside of the stone. The mellow polish of the jade and its size that fits perfectly in a palm hint that it must have been frequently handled by its owners. When not cupped in a hand, it might have sat on a scholar's table as a paperweight.

• Provenance

  From about 1937

  Alfred Fiske Pillsbury (1876-1950), Minneapolis, from about 1937 [1]

  From at least 1960 to 1968

  Desmond Gure (1905-1970), London, from at least June 1960 [2]

  From 1968 to 1987

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from Desmond Gure on January 10, 1968 [3]

  From 1987

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, gift of Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [4]

  Notes:

  [1] The object was exhibited as a long term loan at the Minneapolis Institute of Art from about 1937 to about 1957, see annotation in Inventory of Desmond Gure’s collection, cited in note 2. In 1939 it was on view in New York, see “3000 Years of Chinese Jade,” exh. cat. (New York: Arden Gallery, January 10 – February 11, 1939), cat. 242 (ill.): “Duck, brown Jade, 3 11/16 in Width, Sung. Collection of Alfred F. Pillsbury, Minneapolis. Courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.”

  [2] Gure lent the jade to “The Arts of the Sung Dynasty,” an exhibition organized by the Oriental Ceramic Society at the Arts Council Gallery in London in 1960 and subsequently to “Celadon: Jade: Finds, Specimen, Scientific Results” at the National Museum in Stockholm in May – June 1963, see The Arts Council of Great Britain and The Oriental Ceramic Society, Loan Exhibition of the Arts of the Sung Dynasty, exh. cat. (London: The Arts Council Gallery, June 16 – July 23, 1960), cat. 279 and Celadon Jade: Finds, Specimen, Scientific Results (Stockholm: The National Museum, May – June 1963), cat. 157.

  See also an undated, typed inventory of Desmond Gure collection, “List 2 – Objects Exhibited at Stockholm 1963,” no. 195: “A brown jade carving of a goose with its head turned back over its body – 3.11/16 in. long.

  Early Sung Dynasty or earlier,” copy in object file.

  [3] According to information provided by Arthur M. Sackler Foundation in October 2009, Arthur M. Sackler purchased the jade as part of

  Desmond Gure jade collection on January 10, 1968, see “Arthur M. Sackler Gift: Chinese Jades: Summary,” where the object is listed under Sackler Collection no. J-1321 and identified as S1987.28.

  [4] Pursuant to the agreement between Dr. Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  Les trois reves du mandarin (October 22, 2009 to February 14, 2010)

  Magic, Myths, and Minerals: Chinese Jades from the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (August 23, 2003 to January 29, 2006)

  The Arts of China (November 18, 1990 to September 7, 2014)

  Monsters, Myths and Minerals (September 28, 1987 to November 26, 1995)

  Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages (May 1 to June 22, 1975)

  Celadon, Jade: Finds, Specimen, Scientific Results (May to June 1963)

  The Arts of the Sung Dynasty (June 16 to July 23, 1960)

  Chinese Bronzes in the Pillsbury Collection (1952)

  3000 Years of Chinese Jade (January 10 to February 11, 1939)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Alfred Fiske Pillsbury (1876-1950)

  Desmond Gure (1905-1970)

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

• Type

  Sculpture

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  900s, 1300s

• Name

  Sackler, Arthur M., Pillsbury, Alfred Fiske, Gure, Desmond

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Art, Song dynasty (960 - 1279), Goose, Chinese Art, Jade

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture