Year of the Goat. The Goat is the eighth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The sign is often referred to as the Ram or Sheep sign, since the Chinese word yáng is more accurately translated as Caprinae, a taxonomic subfamily that includes both goats and sheep. The Year of the Goat is associated with the 8th Earthly Branch symbol, 未 (wèi). Reference: Wikipedia
The ram is also the sign for Aries in British astrology, however, this post is concerned with the Chinese zodiac. Below are some examples of the Goat in Chinese Art and Crafts.
MONTEGRAPPA: Oriental Zodiac Goat Sterling Silver Limited Edition 1998 Fountain Pen and Ballpoint Pair Marbled celluloid, sterling silver overlays. Medium 18K two-tone gold nib. No packaging except for two booklets. Limited Edition: 0023/1998.
Sold for US$ 500 (£ 390) inc. premium at Bonhams in 2018
Nine Chinese pottery zodiac figures, Tang Dynasty modelled as a rat, ox, rabbit, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig, each standing with their hands clasped before them, wearing long flowing robes, some black, red, yellow and cream pigments remaining — 12 1/8in. (30.7cm) high max. (9)
Sold for GBP 3,600 at Christies in 2005
A Fine Hetian Jade (和田玉) Carving
Finely carved in the form of Goat. The sheep, ram or goat (yang 羊) is one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. The sheep (yang) has the same pronunciation and therefore symbolizes the male principle yang in Yin Yang(阴 阳) and also the “sun” (yang 阳). Sheep kneel when they nurse which to Confucians symbolize “filial piety” as bowing to the mother. Scholar’s objects were, in a sense, the most luxury goods of their time, they represented so much more than monetary wealth, what they really represented was the physical embodiment of the scholar’s intellectual curiosity and aesthetic taste. Hetian Jade (和田玉) has been an important part of China’s jade culture for more than 5,000 years. Accompanied by Nan Yang Gemological report (Singapore) stating natural Jade. Size: 69.2mm x 47.1mm x 10.3mm
Sold for SGD 390 at Arts & Co. SG in 2018
Zodiac figure: goat Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911) Date: 18th century Culture: China Medium: Biscuit porcelain with turquoise and purple glazes
Reference: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Chinese dress toggle in a shape of a goat Made in China, Asia, 1700-1940
Reference: Museum of Applied Art and Sciences
Goat (Hitsuji), from the series Twelve Signs of the Zodiac (Jûni shi) 「十二支 未」 Japanese Edo period 1770s Artist Ishikawa Toyomasa (Japanese, active 1770–1780)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Reference: Museum of Fine Arts Boston
AN INSCRIBED WHITE JADE ‘ZODIAC’ PLAQUE QING DYNASTY, 18TH – 19TH CENTURY the translucent white stone worked in low relief on one side of the beaded-edged cartouche with a mythical figure with a goat’s head and a human body clad in loose robes and holding a scroll, below an inscription reading weiyang (‘the year of the goat’), the reverse with a shuangxi (‘double happiness’) character, bordered along the upper and lower edges with ruyi scrollwork, pierced near the top with an aperture 7.7 cm, 3 in.
While jade plaques of this type were produced in large numbers from the early Qing dynasty, the present piece is special for its depiction of a zodiac figure. Compare a similar plaque carved on one side with a rabbit similarly dressed in loose robes, sold at Christie’s London, 15th May 2012, lot 75. Plaques of this type, which were popular personal ornaments, are discussed by James C.S Lin in The Immortal Stone. Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Twentieth Century, London, 2009, p. 81; where it is noted that the design of the frame is reminiscent of wooden frames in contemporary furniture and architecture.
Sold for 687,500 HKD at Sothebys in 2016
Figure with the head of a goat, one of a set of twelve representing the signs of the zodiac. Earthenware with traces of pigment over a white slip. It is represented as a human figure with the head of a goat, hands folded across the chest, draped in a long cloak. 8th Century
Reference: © Victoria and Albert Museum
