Vase

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Similar vessels excavated in Inner Mongolia suggest that this somewhat awkward vase was produced for a member of the Ruzhen, or some other confederation of Mongol people, who ruled parts of northern China from the twelfth to the fourteenth century. The shape of the vessel derives from the hu form, first produced in China during the Bronze Age, and the mask-like imagery on the lower section has similar roots. Both allude to the antiquarianism that was common in China in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The cresting waves at the top of the vase, on the other hand, are a contemporaneous motif commonly found in ceramics and metalwork.

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