Wineglass

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the fifteenth century, Murano, the glass-making center of Venice, Italy, developed cristallo, a nearly colorless and highly ductile glass. Vessels made of cristallo were prized throughout Europe for their clarity and weightlessness. Venice came to dominate the luxury glass market. By the seventeenth century, the glassware being produced was very thinly blown and incredibly lightweight as can be seen in this vessel. The stem is hollow, contributing to the seeming weightlessness of the wineglass.

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