Basin with birds in a lotus pond

Basin with birds in a lotus pond

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Large bronze basins functioned as water containers for daily use and can be traced back to the Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220). While drawing inspiration from the traditional basin form, the artist modeled the tightly arranged lotus pond with birds after the popular design used to decorate blue-and-white porcelain made for the West Asia market during the fourteenth century.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Basin with birds in a lotus pondBasin with birds in a lotus pondBasin with birds in a lotus pondBasin with birds in a lotus pondBasin with birds in a lotus pond

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.