Textile panel with phoenixes and lotuses holding the Eight Buddhist Treasures

Textile panel with phoenixes and lotuses holding the Eight Buddhist Treasures

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bright yellow was the color reserved for the imperial family. On this panel, brocaded with gold and polychrome threads, four flying phoenixes alternate with lotus flowers, each holding two Buddhist symbols. These symbols—an umbrella with paired fish, a vase with lotus, a conch shell with an endless knot, and a canopy with a wheel—constitute the Eight Buddhist Treasures, a standard design used by the imperial workshop. Introduced with Buddhism, this imagery is also found in contemporary porcelain, cloisonné, and other media.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Textile panel with phoenixes and lotuses holding the Eight Buddhist TreasuresTextile panel with phoenixes and lotuses holding the Eight Buddhist TreasuresTextile panel with phoenixes and lotuses holding the Eight Buddhist TreasuresTextile panel with phoenixes and lotuses holding the Eight Buddhist TreasuresTextile panel with phoenixes and lotuses holding the Eight Buddhist Treasures

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.