Scenes from the Story of Joseph

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Combs with ivory teeth, ornamented with secular scenes, were produced in Flanders, northern France, and Italy during the Middle Ages. The carving style of this unusual later example is more refined and its iconography is more elaborate. The rendering of the architecture is detailed. Joseph, who stored up grain during "seven fat years" to provide for "seven lean years," was an exemplar of thrift and chastity and thus was often depicted on Netherlandish wedding items; perhaps this comb was made for a bride.

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