Textile with Swan Hunt

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Hunting swans with a falcon was an important annual autumnal event for nomadic people such as the Jurchen rulers of the Jin dynasty, one of several rulers who controlled much of northern China from the tenth to the fourteenth century. Illustrations of this important seasonal event are found in textiles, jade, and ceramics. Historical texts record that Jurchen noblemen wore green silk robes with this motif during hunts. This piece is perhaps a fragment from such a robe.

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