Panel with Flowers in Vase and Scholar's Objects

Panel with Flowers in Vase and Scholar's Objects

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This embroidery illustrates a common theme in Chinese painting and decorative arts: a scene of a scholar’s study. Flowers bloom in a blue-and-white vase; a hexagonal brush pot holds a handscroll, a flywhisk, two brushes, a folding fan, and a ruyi scepter; and an ink stone and mountain-shaped brush rest await the master’s return. On this beautifully made panel, the flowers are embroidered with miniscule pearls rather than white thread.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Panel with Flowers in Vase and Scholar's ObjectsPanel with Flowers in Vase and Scholar's ObjectsPanel with Flowers in Vase and Scholar's ObjectsPanel with Flowers in Vase and Scholar's ObjectsPanel with Flowers in Vase and Scholar's Objects

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.