Orchids, Bamboo, Briars, and Rocks

Tesshū Tokusai

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In medieval Japan, ink paintings that combined orchids with briars, bamboo, and rocks were most commonly associated with the Yuan-dynasty Chinese painter Xuechuang Puming (active mid-14th century), whom Tesshū Tokusai—a Zen monk and accomplished poet and painter— may have encountered during an extended trip to China in the 1330s. After his return to Japan, Tokusai introduced the genre to others Zen monks such as Gyokuen Bonpō (1325–1388), another celebrated painter of orchids. Tokusai’s poetic inscription reads: Thousands of miles now from the River of Chu, My thoughts multiply— I wonder, could there be anything As redolent as the solitary orchid? —Trans. Aaron Rio

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