Decorative Arts in China, 1000 to the Present

Chinese decorative arts spanning a millennium of ceramics, jade, and metalwork.

Why go

The exhibition challenges the distinction between decorative and fine arts by revealing how Chinese artisans embedded objects with rich cultural significance—religious meaning, literary traditions, auspicious symbols, and moral teachings—across a thousand years of artistic mastery.

What to expect

A cross-medium display of over 100 objects including porcelain, metalwork, lacquer, jade, bamboo, and silk, ranging from ostentatious royal commissions to restrained domestic wares, presented to explore evolving tastes across different social strata.

Things to know

• The exhibition features works mainly from The Met collection, spanning from 1000 to the present.
• Objects convey religious or ritual meanings, celebrate secular literary traditions, and employ auspicious symbols and visual puns to embed m
• Chinese artisans actively created new colors and styles rather than simply copying foreign techniques, as seen in the adoption of cloisonné
• The exhibition is made possible by the Florence and Herbert Irving Fund for Asian Art Exhibitions.
• Meticulous execution and creative design across all media reveal an extraordinarily high level of artistic mastery in Chinese decorative art