Coffeepot

Liverpool

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Though it is decorated in an Asian style with a domestic scene of a Chinese family, this baluster-shaped coffeepot is a form that developed in Europe with no precedent in the Far East. Coffee was introduced into Britain in the 17th century, and by the early 18th century, the tall coffeepot with spout and domed cover was established as the standard form. The sparing use of colored decoration on a white body left largely exposed and undecorated was inspired by the Japanese Kakiemon style. It can also be seen in the nearby Worcester teapot and vase that are also primarily white.

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