Mandarin ducks and cotton rose hibiscus

Lü Ji

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Big, colorful, and dazzling, this painting demonstrates why Lü Ji became the most revered bird-and-flower painter at the court of the Ming emperor Hongzhi (r. 1488–1505). Hung in a palace, this work would have added a splash of pizzazz, brightening the interior space with the vitality of the natural world. Like most of Lü’s paintings, this one also has a symbolic dimension: the pair of mandarin ducks in the foreground connote a happy marriage, while the surrounding flowers form rebuses (visual puns) that underscore the message. For instance, the word for “hibiscus” (furong 芙蓉) combines with “cassia” (gui 桂) to form the rebus furong qigui 夫榮妻貴, meaning “prosperous groom, honorable bride”—the perfect painting to celebrate a wedding.

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