Newly Imported Great Elephant (Shinto hakurai no daizō)

Ichiryūsai Yoshitoyo

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The excitement generated by the public display of exotic foreign animals such as tigers, camels, and elephants was captured by artists in the port cities of Nagasaki and Yokohama.

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