Figure of a Seated Musician

Figure of a Seated Musician

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The musical instruments depicted among this group of pottery figures (36.12.1, .2, .10–.13, .16) are typical of those used in popular music of the Han period (206 B.C.–A.D. 220). The instruments all had long histories, having existed for centuries, in the case of the zither, or millennia, in the case of the flute (now missing from the figure of the flutist).

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Figure of a Seated MusicianFigure of a Seated MusicianFigure of a Seated MusicianFigure of a Seated MusicianFigure of a Seated Musician

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.