Box with scene of bathing children

Box with scene of bathing children

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This tiny box, previously thought to date to the sixteenth century, can be reassigned to the fourteenth after comparison with an example bearing an image of the poet Tao Qian, which dates to the first half of the fourteenth century. The large, unarticulated shapes of the rocks and the use of a single pattern for the low-relief background are similar on both boxes, as are the thick incisions used to define the figures' clothing and the large oval faces with nondescript features.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.