Adoration of the Shepherds

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The jasper in this intaglio is not layered, but the engraver used its mottled patternings and variegated colorations, from violet to amber, to add atmospheric effects to his model, much like a cameo carver exploring a stone's best properties. The Renaissance composition is sufficiently large and lucid to be judged without the aid of an impression. The intaglio's original function is not known, but a devout subsequent owner decided to make it into a seal.

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