Vase with decoration of dragons among clouds (one of a pair)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The technique of incising a very delicate pattern into the surface of a porcelain vessel before covering it with a thick glaze, which obscures the underlying decoration, became popular in the early fifteenth century and was used thereafter. The long, elegant necks and bulbous bodies of these miniature vases most likely derive from an Islamic glass prototype introduced to China centuries earlier.

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