Magnolia, crabapple, and tree peony

Magnolia, crabapple, and tree peony

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The plants on this embroidery evoke an auspicious rebus, or multipart visual pun: magnolia (yulan 玉蘭), crabapple (haitang 海棠) and peony (nicknamed fugui 富貴) combine to mean “fortune in the jade hall” (yutang fugui 玉堂富貴), a wish for riches and honor.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Magnolia, crabapple, and tree peonyMagnolia, crabapple, and tree peonyMagnolia, crabapple, and tree peonyMagnolia, crabapple, and tree peonyMagnolia, crabapple, and tree peony

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.