Chair Strip with Antiquities

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The length of this chair strip is divided into segments, with a different design for each part of the chair being covered-the front legs, seat, and back, and a short segment that hangs behind the chair. The theme of the "hundred antiques," embroidered onto the dark blue satin, is especially finely executed on the segment that would cover the back of the chair. There, ritual bronzes flank a tall vase containing tree peonies. Auspicious birds are mixed in with the still-life elements: a mandarin duck stands on one foot on a rock next to the tall vase, and at the top of the chair strip, upside down because it would have hung behind the chair, a crane stands in a vessel containing waves. Both these birds have favorable associations, the mandarin duck with conjugal harmony and the crane with long life, and both are insignia of rank for governmental officials.

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