Boulder with Daoist paradise

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This impressive jade sculpture represents a Daoist paradise where immortals, cranes, and deer move through a mountainous landscape punctuated by pines, a waterfall, and a pavilion that stands beside a peach tree laden with fruit. Lower down the slope, a servant offers a platter of these "peaches of immortality" to two bearded figures. The otherworldly atmosphere is further enhanced by the meandering clouds that encircle the crest of the mountain. Jade, which is sonorous when struck but is harder than steel, has long been associated with moral virtue and immortality. The theme of reclusion within misty, fantastic realms appears in youxian (Wandering in Transcendence) poetry of the Six Dynasties period (220–589), and was a very popular painting subject beginning in the Tang dynasty (618–906).

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