Box with Pommel Scroll Design

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The lush spirals carved into the lacquer illustrate a design commonly known as “pommel scroll” because the bracket-like shapes resemble the pommel of a Chinese sword. This motif was popular in lacquer, ceramics, and metalwork in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and remained so in carved lacquer, as both a primary subject and as a decorative embellishment, for centuries.

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