Hanging with the Three Stars

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This embroidered altar hanging is remarkable for its bold and expressive designs. The top and most important register features auspicious figures known as the Three Stars: Happiness (fu), Emoluments and Official Preferment (lu), and, in the center, Longevity (shou). Five boy attendants are meticulously embroidered with sweet faces and in lively postures. The middle and lower sections are decorated with sumptuous fruit offerings and auspicious animals and plants.

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