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Geese Returning Home

1600s
hanging scroll; ink on paper

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In the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · as of July 2026

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FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

In Korea, the word for geese in a grove of reeds, noan , has the same pronunciation as the word for "the comfortable life at old age." With this double meaning for a happy life, the motif of returning geese gained popularity in paintings.

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