Pair of boxes with melons and butterflies

Pair of boxes with melons and butterflies

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The combination of melons and butterflies is a pun on an old idiom that expresses a wish for many offspring, like melons on vines. This encoded meaning makes this pair of boxes a likely gift for a wedding.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pair of boxes with melons and butterfliesPair of boxes with melons and butterfliesPair of boxes with melons and butterfliesPair of boxes with melons and butterfliesPair of boxes with melons and butterflies

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.