Ritual water vessel (lei)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This vessel is a rare and important example of a Yuan dynasty dated ritual bronze for an official Confucian temple. This vessel’s archaistic décor is typical of bronzes made from the thirteenth to the fourteenth century.The shape is loosely based on ancient ritual wine container pou. But this vessel type underwent a functional change due to the ritual reforms that took place during the Southern Song period (1127–1279), when it was repurposed as a water container lei (or xilei) based on the Confucian ritual manual composed by the famous Confucian Zhu Xi (1130–1200). Its 75-character inscription states that it was cast in 1359 under governmental supervision for the Confucian school of Songjiang Prefecture (now a suburb district of Shanghai). The inscription’s long list of local officials’ names demonstrates this vessel’s commemorative significance and attests to the official respect and political importance accorded to Confucianism at this time. This is highly significant given the low regard that early Mongol rulers held for Confucianism and Confucian-educated literati.

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