1-234-650 - The Museum of East Asian Art/Heritage Images

Bronze mandarin duck, late Ming dynasty, China, 1550-1644. Duck naturalistically rendered standing on a lotus leaf. The duck's head is on a long neck and turned to the right holding in its beak a lotus spray with two flowers and stems. The body is extensively incised with details of feathers. Trefoil feathers emerge from under the wings looking like subsidiary wings. The mandarin duck, which mates for life, was a popular motif in Chinese art for centuries as a symbol of marital fidelity and was therefore a very appropriate wedding present.