Wild Geese and Reeds (1392–1910): Art, History and Details

Wild Geese and Reeds (1392–1910) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In this hanging scroll, wild geese are portrayed engaging in different activities: descending to a marsh, gathering in flocks, and grazing on plants. In Korean paintings, images of geese and reeds serve as the symbol of peaceful senior life; a homophone of geese and reeds means aging peacefully.

Object facts

• Title: Wild Geese and Reeds
• Date: 1392–1910
• Culture: Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Unmounted hanging scroll; ink on paper
• Dimensions: 70.8 x 223.6 cm (27 7/8 x 88 1/16 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Hanging scroll
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1915.631

A detail from the museum

Paintings that depict a peaceful image of migratory white-fronted geese descending to a river bank where tall reeds gently bend in the evening breeze were widely favored as birthday gifts, especially to elders: a homophone of the title Geese and Reeds means Aging Peacefully.

Collection credit

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust

Further reading listed by the museum

• Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.