Pair of andirons

Pere Jean-Antoine Ducerceau

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Andirons, also known as firedogs, are placed inside fireplaces to hold burning logs. This pair features columns supporting vases and resting on female masks framed by foliage that ends in animal paws.

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