Playing the zither for a crane

Unidentified artist

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In a landscape of his own design, a man plays music for his pet crane beneath a massive paulownia tree. Within this tightly curated microcosm, the fantastic rocks stand in for mountain ranges, the man-made pond for an ocean, and the foliage for dense forests, creating a safe and placid representation of nature for the enjoyment of a privileged elite.

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