Stencil with Pattern of Wine Cups on Waves

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The presence here of shallow wine cups floating on water calls to mind the Poetry Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion in fourth-century China, in which poets famously drank from cups of wine that had been set adrift down a meandering stream. Two paintings on view in these galleries treat the same theme.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art