Dish with scholar by a lotus pond

Dish with scholar by a lotus pond

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

On this dish, a scholar sits beneath a tree while an attendant picks lotus flowers. The scene recalls a story of the Song-dynasty scholar-official Zhou Dunyi (1017–73), who was known for his fondness of the lotus, a sign of a nature lover.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dish with scholar by a lotus pondDish with scholar by a lotus pondDish with scholar by a lotus pondDish with scholar by a lotus pondDish with scholar by a lotus pond

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.