Lord Lyndhurst

Samuel Alcock & Co.

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Parian ware is an unglazed porcelain body that was appreciated for its resemblance to white marble. It was developed in England in the 1840s, and it quickly became popular for the reproduction of works evoking classical antiquity, as well as for busts of contemporary figures and for small-scale sentimental sculptures such as this figure. These works could be produced at relatively low cost, making them available to England’s growing middle class.

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