NEW EXHIBITIONS
Water dropper in the shape of a rhinoceros (detail), Ming dynasty (1368–1644), 15th century. Copper alloy. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2015 (2015.294)
Decorative Arts in China, 1000 to the Present
July 25, 2026 – Ongoing
Uncover the overlooked essence of decorative arts in China. This exhibition highlights the superb aesthetic achievement and deep cultural significance of so-called “decorative arts.” Departing from the usual presentation style that focuses on the material or dates of objects, this cross-medium display explores evolving tastes across different social strata, reflects artistic virtuosity, and deepens our understanding of Chinese cultural traditions.
Decorative Arts in China, 1000 to the Present features over 100 works in a range of media—including porcelain, metalwork, lacquer, jade, bamboo, silk, and more, mainly from The Met collection. Objects span from ostentatious to restrained; some were royal commissions, others were made for domestic markets or for export. In almost all media, meticulous execution and creative design reveal an extraordinarily high level of artistic mastery. Not merely ornamental, objects feature forms and patterns that are endowed with rich cultural significance. Some convey religious or ritual meanings; others celebrate secular literary traditions. Through auspicious symbols, visual puns, or meaningful historical narratives, artists never ceased to explore creative forms of expression—even embedding their works with moral admonitions or subtle hints of humor. Through one thousand years, these marvelous works continue to challenge distinctions between the “decorative arts” and “fine arts” in China.
The exhibition is made possible by the Florence and Herbert Irving Fund for Asian Art.
To learn more, click here.
A Lasting Legacy: Chinese Jades from New York Collections
July 25, 2026 – Ongoing
Jade—primarily the mineral nephrite—has been revered in China for thousands of years both for its natural beauty and, especially, the human values associated with its physical properties. Its gentle color reflects benevolence, its soft luster suggests humility, and its extreme hardness and durability calls to mind integrity. Among American collectors, Heber R. Bishop was a pioneering and influential figure who became fascinated with Chinese jades in the late 19th century. His passion for jade inspired generations of collectors to assemble their own remarkable collections, of which many are represented in The Met’s holdings.
Featuring 50 objects from The Met collection displayed side by side with Bishop’s pieces, this exhibition explores the growing interest in jade throughout the 20th century and illustrates America’s evolving knowledge and understanding of Chinese gemstone art, its history, and its cultural significance. Among the highlights are ancient tools and ceremonial weapons, antique works crafted after historical ritual vessels and implements, decorative objects inspired by jades from Mughal India, and carvings of novel and innovative designs created in the 18th to 20th centuries.
The exhibition is made possible by the Florence and Herbert Irving Fund for Asian Art Exhibitions.
To learn more, click here.
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
City of Memory: Nanjing in the Seventeenth Century
June 27, 2026 – January 3, 2027
Throughout Chinese history, the city of Nanjing served as the capital of multiple dynasties. Each time a dynasty was overthrown, it left behind another layer of cultural memory, creating an atmosphere in which artists found themselves surrounded by the past. Material traces of history—temples, city walls, ancient trees—blended with less tangible remains, such as views that had inspired famous artists and poetic verses they had written. In 1644, the Ming dynasty was violently overthrown, and the Qing took its place. A new layer of reminiscence was added, sparking feelings of loss and nostalgia, as the people of Nanjing saw their world shattered and another dynasty—their own—consigned to the realm of history.
City of Memory: Nanjing in the Seventeenth Century explores how artists lived and worked in this charged environment in the decades before and after the fall of the Ming dynasty. Through a selection of about 100 objects, mostly from The Met collection, the exhibition illuminates both the city’s lore and complex history as well as the evolution of Nanjing painting from the 1640s to the 1680s, introducing key figures, genres, and styles.
Artworks donated to The Met by Julia and John Curtis have inspired and enriched this exhibition.
The exhibition is made possible by the Joseph Hotung Fund.
To learn more, click here.
Korea, Kashyapa (detail), dated 1700. Wood with polychrome paint, H. 22 in. (55.9 cm); W. 9 in. (22.9 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, 1942 (42.25.8)
Flip Sides: Seeing Korean Art Anew
March 16, 2026 – May 31, 2027
Most objects are displayed to show their “best” angle meant to impress, sometimes hiding intriguing details. Flip Sides: Seeing Korean Art Anew invites close looking and offers multiple views of the inside, reverse, or hard-to-see aspects of objects.
Bringing together approximately 50 objects from The Met collection, with more than half displayed for the first time, this exhibition, with a rotation, shows treasured Korean traditions. By presenting them in ways that give us a fuller picture into each object’s unique form, Flip Sides provides insight into the construction and function of works in metal, wood, ceramic, textiles, and lacquer. A Buddhist sculpture that held offerings inside, a porcelain jar of striking openwork that conceals an inner chamber, a bronze mirror with a delicately incised image, and a king’s lacquer letter box with linings featuring impressive calligraphy are among the featured objects in Flip Sides.
During the exhibition, a selection of artworks will come off view and be replaced by new works: Rotation 1: March 16–October 18, 2026 Rotation 2: October 31, 2026–May 9, 2027
To learn more, click here.
Celebrating the Year of the Horse
February 7 – January 26, 2027
Lunar New Year Festival: Saturday, February 7, 12-5pm
The traditional East Asian lunar calendar marks time through a twelve-year cycle, each year represented by the animals of the Chinese zodiac: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. First associated with the Chinese calendar in the third century BCE and firmly established by the first century CE, these symbolic creatures are believed to embody certain traits that are manifested in the personalities of people born in that animal’s year. February 17, 2026, marks the beginning of the Year of the Horse, a creature symbolizing power, strength, and vitality.
Celebrating the Year of the Horse brings together works from The Met collection to explore the horse’s enduring nature and vital place in Chinese civilization. Domesticated in prehistoric times, this animal has shaped nearly every facet of life—from agriculture and transportation to trade, warfare, sport, and entertainment. In ancient China, horse-drawn chariots transported military commanders and the social elite, while in the Tang dynasty (618–907), tall and robust horses came to embody the strength of the state and cosmopolitan spirit of the empire. In Chinese popular culture, horses are among the most celebrated animals, and in the spiritual realm they serve as noble mounts for divine guardians believed to bring joy, protection, and prosperity to the household. This presentation, featuring a range of expressive works in ceramics, glass, jade, and metal, and woodblock prints, illuminates these roles while celebrating the horse’s power, vitality, and spirit.
The exhibition is made possible by the Joseph Hotung Fund.
To learn more, click here.
Household Gods: Hindu Devotional Prints, 1860–1930
Subramaniyan with his consorts Valli and Devasena (detail), Ravi Varma Press, c. 1900–1915, Color lithograph, varnish. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Friends of Asian Art, 2021
Through June 27, 2027
In Hinduism, the act of darshan, or “seeing god,” is central to worship. This intimate exchange between deity and devotee traditionally takes place in the temple. But within each home is also a shrine, dedicated to that householder’s chosen deity. The need to display an image of the divine in the home was traditionally fulfilled by small icons made of clay or metal. In the mid-19th century, new technologies were introduced into India, first photography and then the chromolithographic press. The latter permitted the production of inexpensive prints of the Hindu gods for mass consumption. These proved immensely popular and for the first time in India, even the humblest home could afford a colorful icon of their chosen god to display in the household shrine.
Household Gods: Hindu Devotional Prints, 1860–1930 presents the first encyclopedic exhibition of these chromolithographic prints from the pioneering studio presses of Calcutta (Kolkata), Poona (Pune), and Bombay (Mumbai). These mass-produced prints became a powerful means of expressing Indian religious identity at a time when the country was experiencing the first stirrings of the Independence movement.
Featuring approximately 120 works, shown in four rotations, from The Met’s collection of chromolithographic prints, along with paintings and portable triptych shrines, Household Gods provides a unique window on the vibrant tradition of Indian devotional imagery on the cusp of modernity.
During the exhibition, a selection of artworks will come off view and be replaced by new works:
Rotation 1: January 24–May 25, 2026
Rotation 2: May 30–October 11, 2026
Rotation 3: October 17, 2026–February 21, 2027
Rotation 4: February 27–June 27, 2027
To learn more, click here.
The Infinite Artistry of Japanese Ceramics
Through August 8, 2027
From the earliest hand-built figurines rooted in spiritual beliefs to the vibrant works that define today’s contemporary ceramic art scene, Japanese pottery reflects exceptional creativity and a refined sense of beauty. Its distinctiveness arises from the ingenuity and mastery of the potters, as well as the wide range of wares that have long supported daily life. This exhibition explores Japan’s extensive and rich history of ceramic art through approximately 350 extraordinary works presented in themes that offer fresh perspectives on the diverse forms and functions, from everyday tableware to vessels created for tea masters and elite households to modern sculptural compositions.
Japan’s earliest pottery dates back more than 12,000 years, when makers shaped and fired clay vessels for cooking and storage—objects that bear the traces of these early potters’ hands. Expertise transmitted from China and Korea in medieval times facilitated the development of new Japanese techniques and wares. Over time, the reverence for prized ceramics led to finding beauty even through damage. Japanese artisans developed kintsugi, the art of repairing broken ceramics with gold lacquer, restoring the damaged object’s function while making it even more precious and valuable. Japanese cuisine and dining aesthetics inspired vessels designed to harmonize with the color and texture of food. Many porcelains from the Edo period (1615–1868) are embellished with motifs drawn from the natural world or symbols of happiness, longevity, and good fortune.
Featuring refined ceramics and other artworks from the Museum’s Harry G. C. Packard Collection, this exhibition celebrates the 50th anniversary of this landmark acquisition that established the foundation of The Met’s Japanese art holdings. By placing ceramics in dialogue with related art forms—including lacquers, textiles, paintings, and woodblock prints—the display inspires curiosity about the multiverse of Japanese ceramics and its broader cultural contexts.
During the exhibition, a selection of artworks will come off view and be replaced by new works:
Rotation 1: January 19–May 12, 2026
Rotation 2: May 14–August 16, 2026
Rotation 3: August 29–December 8, 2026
Rotation 4: December 10, 2026–March 28, 2027
Rotation 5: April 10–August 8, 2027
To learn more, click here.
Art of the Himalayas
The current installation of Tibetan and Nepalese art features several recent acquisitions and gifts, including two figurative oil lamps from seventeenth and eighteenth-century Nepal (2020.288.1, .2) gifted by the Zimmerman family; important Tibetan bronzes donated by Edith Kubicek in memory of her husband Peter (2024.441.1a–c, .2); and a rare portrait from around 1830 of Col. Randabir Singh Thapa (2021.100), a key figure in Nepalese political life of the period.
The exhibition is made possible by the Florence and Herbert Irving Fund for Asian Art Exhibitions.
