Table knife and fork

Table knife and fork

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

With their graceful mother-of-pearl handles, embellished with paste “rubies” and gilt messing, this knife and fork are referred to as “Habaner” work, a term used for art made by descendants of refugees who had settled in Hungary during the sixteenth century fleeing from religious persecution in the Austrian province of Tyrol.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Table knife and forkTable knife and forkTable knife and forkTable knife and forkTable knife and fork

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.