Vase with Buddhist figures

Vase with Buddhist figures

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

By the seventeenth century, traditional Buddhist themes were common both in literati paintings and in the decorative arts. The holy men depicted here are arhats (luohans), Buddha’s disciples. One tussles with a snarling tiger, another calls a roaring dragon, and the third has a cane and a straw hat. Probably copied from a woodblock print, these figures represent stock figures rather than specific individuals.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vase with Buddhist figuresVase with Buddhist figuresVase with Buddhist figuresVase with Buddhist figuresVase with Buddhist figures

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.