Tobacco box

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The box is oval. On the lid, among the leaf scrolls, the coats of arms of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, officially recognized in 1648, are rendered. The coats of arms are those of, from left to right (top row): Gelderland, Overijssel, Zeeland, Groningen en Ommelanden; bottom row: Friesland, Holland, and Utrecht. A lion bears the central shield of Holland. The underside shows three roundels. In the central one is depicted a walking lion with a sword, the symbol of the United Provinces. The two flanking medallions contain popinjays and flowers. Rims are lined and edges are molded; leaf scrolls adorn the borders. The sides are decorated with chevron ornament.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art