Table with Flowering Sprays

Table with Flowering Sprays

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In China, mother-of-pearl was being used as early as the twelfth century to decorate furniture, including beds, chests, and tables, as well as such smaller items as garden stools. These goods were important items in the global trade from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. The decorative elements on the top of this table consist of large pieces of relatively thick mother-of-pearl that were incised and inlaid into the lacquer-coated rosewood. They include large sprigs of tree peony interspersed with small sprays of plum and chrysanthemum and fluttering butterflies.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.