Pan Box in the Shape of a Duck

Pan Box in the Shape of a Duck

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This charming box stored the spices used for making pan, a mildly narcotic digestive whose main ingredients are betel nut and powdered lime. The form, of a sleeping duck, may be inspired by Chinese porcelains of this subject in circulation in eighteenth-century India.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pan Box in the Shape of a DuckPan Box in the Shape of a DuckPan Box in the Shape of a DuckPan Box in the Shape of a DuckPan Box in the Shape of a Duck

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.