Seal Box with Hunters on Horseback

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The style of clothing worn by the three equestrian figures on the top of this box identifies them as Mongols, a people who ruled over their vast empire from a capital at Dadu (present-day Beijing) in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The representations of Mongols hunting and the decorative motifs on the sides of this box were once outlined with powdered gold that was sprinkled onto the lacquer base; such a technique was also used in China.

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