Silhouette of Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia (1759–1828)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Empress Maria Feodorovna (1759–1828), born Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg, was the second wife of the ill-fated Czar Paul I. It is perhaps the exquisite taste of this great patroness of decorative arts that encouraged production of verre églomisé in Russia. It became so widely popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that even cabinetmakers did not hesitate to incorporate it in Russian furniture. This medallion celebrates the empress's coronation on April 16, 1797.

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