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).
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清 玉雕牧童水牛
Title:Boy with water buffalo
Period:Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Date:18th century
Culture:China
Medium:Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions:H. 5 3/16 in. (13.2 cm); W. 4 3/16 in. (10.6 cm); L. 7 5/16 in. (18.5 cm)
Classification:Jade
Credit Line:Gift of Heber R. Bishop, 1902
Accession Number:02.18.438
Heber R. Bishop American, New York (until 1902; donated to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Bishop Jades," March 30, 2004–February 12, 2006.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The "Hundred Antiques"," February 18–October 31, 2006.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Excellence and Elegance: Decorative Arts of the Eighteenth-Century Qing Court," August 25–November 25, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Passion for Jade: The Heber Bishop Collection," March 14, 2015–June 19, 2016.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Show and Tell: Stories in Chinese Painting," October 29, 2016–August 6, 2017.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Passion for Jade: Heber Bishop and His Collection," October 21, 2017–July 22, 2018.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Celebrating the Year of the Ox," January 30, 2021–January 23, 2022.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Passion for Jade: The Heber Bishop Collection," July 2, 2022–February 17, 2025.
Bishop, Heber R. The Heber R. Bishop Collection of Jade and other Hard Stones. Handbook no. 10. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1909, p. 43.
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