Box decorated with flowers and clouds

Box decorated with flowers and clouds

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The black lacquer exterior of this box is decorated with mother-of-pearl inlaid in the form of simple floral scrolls and formal borders. Twisted metal wires make up the stems of the scrolls and frame the different zones of the decoration. Several of the circular disks of tortoiseshell inlay on the top surface, apparently lost, have been replaced by mother-of-pearl. The inside of the box is lined with red satin. A number of boxes nearly identical to this one in dimensions and decoration are known. A notable feature of this piece and others of this type is the incorporation of gold powder sprinkled on the lacquer. The gold appears only in patches, however, probably because most of it was rubbed off when the surface was polished down after the mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell were inlaid.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Box decorated with flowers and cloudsBox decorated with flowers and cloudsBox decorated with flowers and cloudsBox decorated with flowers and cloudsBox decorated with flowers and clouds

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.