Box with scene of a zither (qin) gathering

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

On the cover of this box, a pair of seated men relax on a veranda that overlooks a body of water. One plays the Chinese zither (qin) while the other listens. A trio of attendants, one inside the nearby pavilion, also enjoy the music. Scenes depicting the cultured lifestyle and artistic skills of the scholarly class became ubiquitous in Chinese painting and decorative arts after the fourteenth 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