Jade book

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This jade book is composed of pale green jade tablets engraved with an essay by the Qianlong emperor commemorating the completion of the Seven Buddhas Pagoda in the imperial garden. The text is carved in regular script calligraphy and filled with gold. Paired with the tablets are black paper pages, which bear the same text written in gold ink. This superb work not only exemplifies Emperor Qianlong’s particular fondness for jade and taste for lavish display but also reveals the Qing court’s partiality to Tibetan Buddhism over other contemporary religions.

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