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Belt slide with a falcon attacking a swan

12th–14th century
Not on view
This carved jade belt slide shows a small falcon hunting a wild goose amid lotus flowers. The motif symbolizes the spring hunt of the Jurchens, a seminomadic people who lived beyond China’s Great Wall in the northeast. Known as chunshui (spring water) in historical texts, the hunt was an important annual Jurchen ritual that Mongol and Manchu royalty continued during the later dynasties. The motif appears widely on ceramics, textiles, and other media.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 金至元 玉雕鶻搏天鵝“春水”帶飾
  • Title: Belt slide with a falcon attacking a swan
  • Period: Jin (1115–1234)–Yuan (1271–1368) dynasty
  • Date: 12th–14th century
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Jade (nephrite)
  • Dimensions: 1 7/8 × 2 5/8 × 1/2 in. (4.8 × 6.7 × 1.3 cm)
  • Classification: Jade
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Gift, 1991
  • Object Number: 1991.483
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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