Vessel with Straw Hole

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Archaeologists currently think that one would have filled a vessel like this from the top with sake and then put a bamboo straw into the hole in the side to drink it. This is one of a number of vessel types imported to Japan from Continental Asia from about the middle of the fifth century. Excavations in Gifu prefecture, in central Japan, yielded this vessel.

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