Set of wine cups with flowers of the twelve months

Set of wine cups with flowers of the twelve months

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Known as "monthly flower cups," this type of cup set is highly appreciated as one of the finest imperial Qing porcelains. The flowers of the twelve lunar months are winter jasmine, apricot, peach, tree peony, pomegranate, lotus, orchid, sweet Osmanthus, chrysanthemum, Chinese rose, plum, and narcissus. The poems on the backs of the objects, mainly derived from famous Tang-dynasty (618–907) poems, appraise the values associated with these flowers.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Set of wine cups with flowers of the twelve monthsSet of wine cups with flowers of the twelve monthsSet of wine cups with flowers of the twelve monthsSet of wine cups with flowers of the twelve monthsSet of wine cups with flowers of the twelve months

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.