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Goose
Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE)
Not on view
This goose is one of forty-six life-size bronze waterfowl discovered in a single pit at the mausoleum of the First Emperor. The pit also yielded fifteen terracotta figures, likely representing musicians, who together with the birds recreated a scene of leisure and entertainment in the imperial garden. The birds are anatomically accurate and exhibit subtle differences in position, be they at rest, swimming, or eating. Some of the birds still bear traces of original pigments.
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