Textile with Animals, Birds, and Flowers

Textile with Animals, Birds, and Flowers

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This textile demonstrates the longevity of motifs in eastern Central Asia. The placement of animals—a spotted horse, a rabbit, and two deer (or antelope)—at its cardinal points is a compositional device that began to appear in the region during the Han dynasty. The birds on the piece, especially the parrot, entered the Central Asian repertoire during a second period of strong Chinese influence, the Tang dynasty. The floral background's central motif of lotus blossoms, a lotus leaf, and a trefoil leaf was seen in Central Asia and North China but became widespread during the Yuan dynasty.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Textile with Animals, Birds, and FlowersTextile with Animals, Birds, and FlowersTextile with Animals, Birds, and FlowersTextile with Animals, Birds, and FlowersTextile with Animals, Birds, and Flowers

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.