Dish with the Chinese story of Sima Guang

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sima Guang (1019–1086), a distinguished Chinese historian and statesman, was also famed for rescuing a playmate who was drowning in a large water jar by smashing the vessel with a rock. A Chinese fable extolling quick wit and bold action, this tale is also represented in Japanese and European ceramics.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art