Herbaceous Peony

Herbaceous Peony

Hu Yuan

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This peony fan shows the blending of literati and popular tastes in the period. Literati artists traditionally disdained a gold ground as vulgar, but Hu uses it to set off his image of the luscious peony, a flower with associations of wealth and seductive beauty.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.