Disc with Auspicious Images

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Deer and cranes are ubiquitous Chinese motifs symbolic of good wishes, as is the pine tree in the center of this plaque. Similar themes are reiterated in two of the inscriptions. The inscription written on a banner suspended at the lower left is the name of an antiques shop active in Beijing in the late nineteeth and early twentieth centuries; that at the upper right records the Chinese name of E. Farago, a custom's officer who was influential at the court of the Guangxu Emperor (r. 1871–1908).

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