Basin with turtles and fish

Basin with turtles and fish

Unidentified

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The design of this vessel reflects the fourteenth-century antiquarian taste. This type of water basin can be traced back to the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–1046 B.C.), but the vessel’s design is based on a woodblock illustration in the 12th-century Xuanhe Bogutu, a catalogue of Song-dynasty imperial collection. The design of turtles and fish allude to the legend of a turtle that emerged from the Luo River bearing a divine book on its carapace. The vessel most likely functioned as a decorative piece in a scholar’s study meant to demonstrate the owner’s appreciation for antiquity.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Basin with turtles and fishBasin with turtles and fishBasin with turtles and fishBasin with turtles and fishBasin with turtles and fish

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.