Purse with boys playing

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

On the back of this purse, boys run and tumble, surrounded by flowers, plants, birds, and deer. Woven freely into the silk, this design is an early example of children at play, a form that can be traced to Central Asia in the eighth century. The silk’s pattern is clearly scaled to fit small objects such as this purse.

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