Vase with King Wen Visiting the Scholar Jiang Taigong

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The narratives painted on the four sides of the vase were most likely based on similar scenes in woodblock illustrations. The solitary angler at the upper left identifies the scene as a historical narrative, set in the twelfth or eleventh century B.C., in which a ruler named Wen seeks the advice of a scholar named Jiang Taigong.

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