Ca. 202BC-220AD.A rare pottery goose with bronze legs. The bird is standing on its stylised, well-defined bronze legs which support a globular body and elegantly slender neck terminating in a yellow-coloured head with a beak and open, attentive eyes. The body is well formed with realistic details. Geese were a major motif in Han dynasty era poetry and were typically distinguished between two types of geese, the domestic goose, and the wild goose. The Han Dynasty, which ruled between 202 BC-220 AD, brought great prosperity and stability to China, reigning over a golden age of classical Chinese civilization during which China saw major advances including the widespread development of a monetary economy and the invention of paper, as well as much progress in the decorative arts.Size: L:250mm / W:245mm ; 1.25kgProvenance: From the private collection of a Somerset gentleman; previously in an old British collection, formed before 2000 on the UK /European art markets.