Panel with Longevity (Shou) Characters

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Writing the character for longevity (shou) in one hundred different forms has a long tradition in China. The earliest example, a stone carving dated 1229, still survives in Guangxi Province, and highly stylized examples are found in all media from later dynasties. Here, the character shou is reproduced in ten different forms, and the purported source for each form is given above in smaller characters. These panels may have once been part of a set of ten hangings with one hundred such characters. Although the gold thread has abraded, it’s not hard to imagine how marvelous and luminous this work would have been when it was displayed within the original set at a luxurious birthday celebration.

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