Dish with long-tailed birds and hibiscuses

Dish with long-tailed birds and hibiscuses

Zhang Cheng

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Several features help date this remarkable dish to the fourteenth century. Two birds circle one another playfully in a composition suited to the circular shape. The lush hollyhock blossoms, shown from multiple perspectives, have petals of different sizes that overlap to suggest depth. Long, narrow leaves fill at least three layers of carving, adding to the richness of the surface. The unworked dark background seen here is more commonly found in earlier carved lacquers.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dish with long-tailed birds and hibiscusesDish with long-tailed birds and hibiscusesDish with long-tailed birds and hibiscusesDish with long-tailed birds and hibiscusesDish with long-tailed birds and hibiscuses

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.