Box with cover

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Round bottom boxes with lids are rare in Islamic metalwork but curiously common in the oeuvres of Mahmud al-Kurdi and Zain al-Din. The original function of this elegant little box is unknown. Sweetmeats may have been served in it, but the similarity in its size and capacity to other boxes lends support to the idea that it was used to transport pre-packed speziere minute or sottili (valuable spices exported in small quantities to Europe).

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