Trilobed vessel with Two Lovers in a Landscape

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The sheer variety of maiolica forms associated with dining suggests that each type served a specialized function, which in the case of this small footed dish remains unknown. Its shape indicates that it may have been intended as a serving vessel for salt or another condiment. Its decoration clearly distinguishes between the interior and exterior surfaces, with an oak-tree design on the outside, and within, a pair of lovers embracing in a sunset landscape.

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