Mirror Handle with a Woman Playing the Lute

Mirror Handle with a Woman Playing the Lute

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This figurine belongs to a group of objects depicting ladies at leisure; here, the woman plays a stringed instrument. They likely served as mirror handles: each has a hole drilled from the top to receive the mirror fixture. Similar objects have been recorded at Khotan, in Central Asia, and are presumably the legacy of a luxury trade in such goods.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mirror Handle with a Woman Playing the LuteMirror Handle with a Woman Playing the LuteMirror Handle with a Woman Playing the LuteMirror Handle with a Woman Playing the LuteMirror Handle with a Woman Playing the Lute

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.