Sutra cover with boys holding the stems of large flowers

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Images of boys among floral scrolls, mainly lotuses, were imbued with meaning in the Buddhist tradition. Known as huasheng tongzi in Chinese or mahoraga in Sanskrit, this type of boy symbolizes rebirth from a sacred lotus growing in purified land. The decoration made this textile a fitting cover for a Buddhist sutra.

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