Incense box with “fragrant grass” design

Incense box with “fragrant grass” design

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Carved lacquers in which a predominant color—in this case red—is interspersed with black, yellow, and sometimes green, were common in the late thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries. The additional colors add subtlety and a richness not found in lacquer with a single-color covering produced in later periods. This box has the signature of Yang Mao incised into the bottom. Yang worked in the fourteenth century and is one of the few lacquer artists whose name is preserved in written records. While it is not possible to be certain if Yang made this box or if the signature was added later, the quality of the lacquer used, the three different colors layered onto one another, and the depth of the carving suggest that it may have been made in his workshop.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Incense box with “fragrant grass” designIncense box with “fragrant grass” designIncense box with “fragrant grass” designIncense box with “fragrant grass” designIncense box with “fragrant grass” design

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.