Double-spouted armorial ewer

LA Workshop

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The grand form of this large ewer is matched by the pretensions of its political references. It bears four heraldic shields, linking the vessel to important members of the most powerful Florentine families of the early sixteenth century. Filled with water or wine, it would have been difficult to lift—such ewers were kept on the floor near the table and poured by strong servants using the massive handle.

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