Ceremonial Ax

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ax heads made of both stone and bronze are common to the early cultures of South China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Examples dating from the Neolithic period and the early Bronze Age, with rounded heads and simple sockets, are often found in burials, illustrating their value as tools, weapons, and items of prestige. Bronze examples produced during the later part of the Bronze and Iron Age are often in fanciful shapes such as a boat or foot, or have flamboyant curving blades. This highly polished, elegant agate example was most likely a symbol of prestige and may have been used in a burial or given as a gift to mark a political alliance or intermarriage.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art