Rank Badge with Wild Goose
Unknown Artist
19th century
Medium
Silk on silk
Dimensions
11 x 11 3/4 in. (27.94 x 29.84 cm)
Classification
Textiles-Embroidered
Culture & Period
China · Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of William Christian Paul, 1929
Accession Number
30.75.947
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite **Rank Badge with Wild Goose**, crafted by an unknown artist in 19th-century Qing dynasty (1644–1911), is a finely embroidered square of silk on silk, measuring 11 x 11¾ inches (27.94 x 29.84 cm). Part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian collection—thanks to the 1929 bequest of William Christian Paul—it exemplifies the opulent textiles worn by imperial officials. The central motif of a wild goose, rendered in vibrant threads, symbolizes grace and seasonal migration, perched against a subtle background evoking waves or clouds. In Qing bureaucracy, these *buzi's* (rank badg...