Rijksmuseum

Bird ornament

Date

c. 907 - c. 1125

Medium

jade (rock)

Culture

China

Institution

Rijksmuseum

In the 10th century north China was conquered by the Qidan, a nomadic people from Mongolia. A feature of their culture was the possession of small, valuable items whose modest dimensions made them easy to transport. These objects are often decorated with representations of animals from the Qidan’s everyday world, such as this swimming grebe, a common summer visitor to the lakes of Mongolia.

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