Vase

John Bennett

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

John Bennett had headed the division of Lambeth Faience at the Doulton Pottery in England before immigrating to the United States in 1877 and setting up his own workshops in New York City. His work is dominated by floral decoration in a highly decorative mode, harking back to his days at Doulton, with the use of colored oxides. Here, the artist has painted delicate white blossoms and olive green foliage on a dark mottled background. Most of Bennett’s work is of white or cream-colored earthenware; this vase is one of the very few known made of dark red earthenware.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art