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Lot Essay
The fluid and bold carving on the current finial imbues remarkable liveliness into the motifs which are characteristic of Jin and Yuan-period jade carvings. One closely related example is a reticulated jade finial excavated at the pagoda at Dafo Temple in Zhangye, Gansu province, dating to the Yuan dynasty. This finial is similarly decorated with a descending goose amidst lotus plants. It is, however, notable that the details on the current lot, such as the muscles and plumage of the goose, are rendered with more fullness and vitality. The Dafo Temple piece is illustrated in Zheng Xiaochun, ‘Zhangye Dafosi jintadian chuanshi ji digong chutu wenwu shangxi’, Wenwu Jianding yu Jianshang, 2016, fig. 9, p. 30. Compare also to a jade plaque carved with similar motifs, excavated from the tomb of Qian Yu in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, dating to the Yuan dynasty, illustrated in Xu Lin, ‘Qianyu mu chutu Yuandai yuqi zongshu’, Gugong wenwu yuekan, 17:1, 1999, p. 73.