Nécessaire incorporating a watch (one of a pair)

Nécessaire incorporating a watch (one of a pair)

John Barbot

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

London’s workshops, supported by a complex network of specialized artisans, produced luxury goods of all kinds, including silks, fans, gold boxes, watches, and jewelry. Some of the most fanciful and expensive goods were made for export to China and India, while others were made on speculation or were sold by lottery.


European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Nécessaire incorporating a watch (one of a pair)Nécessaire incorporating a watch (one of a pair)Nécessaire incorporating a watch (one of a pair)Nécessaire incorporating a watch (one of a pair)Nécessaire incorporating a watch (one of a pair)

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.