Four-lobed box (from incense set)

Four-lobed box (from incense set)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Introduced from Europe, the technique of painted enamel was also commonly used by Chinese makers to decorate local wares, such as this incense set. Three-piece sets like this one appeared in China no later than the thirteenth century and included censers to burn small pieces of incense over burning charcoal. The box would have contained incense woods or balls, and the bottle would have held a pair of chopsticks and a spatula for handling the incense materials. (Set includes (81.1.638a–c, .642, .637a, b)

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Four-lobed box (from incense set)Four-lobed box (from incense set)Four-lobed box (from incense set)Four-lobed box (from incense set)Four-lobed box (from incense set)

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.