Dish with Lotus Pond

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The lotuses and water were painted using blue outlines under the glaze and colored enamels over the glaze. This complicated technique, which began in China in the fifteenth century, was refined in the eighteenth and is often known as doucai, or joined colors.

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