Pair of dishes with scenes from Romance of the Three Kingdoms

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The narrative scenes on this pair of dishes probably derive from woodblock-print illustrations of the popular Chinese historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi). One vignette depicts General Liu Bei and his two sworn brothers at the house of Zhuge Liang, the scholar and strategist who helped Liu win many battles and found the Shu State during the Three Kingdoms period (220–65). The scene on the other dish has yet to be identified.

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