Box with pommel scrolls

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This design is commonly known as the "pommel scroll" pattern because the bracket-shaped scroll resembles the pommel of a Chinese sword. The design was popular in lacquer, ceramics, and metalwork in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and remained important in carved lacquer in the fifteenth century.

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