Panel with boys at play

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This large polychrome silk tapestry features a motif called “the hundred boys,” an expanded version of children at play, to express the desire for a prosperous family. Little boys (eighty-three, to be exact) engage in various activities, such as archery, boating, falconry, fishing, horseback riding, kite flying, music making, playing with a ball, and reading. Each child is woven in a different posture with simple but fluid outlines, which required not only great skill but also an artistic sensibility. Panels like this usually served as wall decoration in elite houses.

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