Cup with scenes from the New Testament (one of a pair)

Franz Fischer

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vessels with religious imagery were treasured in the households of Protestant patricians, where they reinforced communal identity during dining and drinking rituals. This cup—numbered 6 indicates that it was once part of a larger set—is ornamented with scenes from the New Testament, including Mary Magdalen anointing Christ’s feet, Christ curing palsy and restoring a blind man’s sight, and the Good Samaritan.

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