Dish with characters for longevity and health (shou kang)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Auspicious characters in stylized archaic script became extremely popular in sixteenth-century Ming decorative art. The two characters in the center, for longevity (shou) and health (kang), illustrate a blessing wish. The artist nearly merged them into a single character in an ornamental and playful way.

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