Department of Asian Art - Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of Asian Art is one of the largest and most comprehensive of its kind outside Asia, spanning more than 50 galleries and covering roughly 4,000 years of art from China, Japan, Korea, South and Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas. Founded in 1915, the department holds everything from ancient bronzes and Buddhist sculpture to ink paintings, ceramics, textiles, and lacquerware. Signature spaces include the Astor Court, a recreated Ming-dynasty scholar's garden, and a suite of galleries devoted to Japanese screens, calligraphy, and decorative arts that rotate periodically to protect fragile works from light exposure. Heading into 2026, the Met has continued its pattern of rotating installations alongside special exhibitions drawn from its Asian holdings. Its spring 2026 program included Flip Sides: Seeing Korean Art, part of a broader season of new displays at the museum. Beyond special shows, the permanent Asian galleries remain a core part of the Met's identity, prized for both the depth of the collection and the way it's presented — often with an emphasis on materials, technique, and the historical exchange of ideas across the continent. If you're planning a visit, it's worth checking the Met's website for current gallery closures, since sections of the Asian wing periodically close for rotation or renovation.