Plateau

Richard Sibley I

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This distinctive plateau is a smaller version of a renowned plateau made for presentation to Sir Arthur Wellesley, duke of Wellington (1769–1852), the victor of the war against the Napoleonic armies that invaded Portugal and Spain (the Peninsular War, 1808–14). The piece was made on the order of the regent of Portugal John VI. The original Portuguese work is in Apsley House, the duke's London mansion. The pictorial composition shows the duke with some of his generals in high relief, against a background of flags and cannon smoke. The plateau is an early example of commemorative works referring to specific people or events that would become a conspicuous theme in nineteenth-century silver production.

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