Pilgrim bottle with cover

Meissen Manufactory

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This little flask has the form of the traditional pilgrim bottle and was modeled by the Dresden court silversmith Johann Jakob Irminger (1635–1724), who was appointed artistic director of the Meissen factory in 1712. The material is the fine red stoneware first produced at Meissen. The flask's Baroque European shape contrasts with its decoration, which imitates Japanese lacquer.

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