Storage jar (albarello) with a profile portrait

Storage jar (albarello) with a profile portrait

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The distinctive profile of the man depicted on this storage jar might suggest that it is the portrait of a specific individual. It has been proposed that it represents King Charles VIII of France (1470–1498), who invaded Italy in 1494–95 and attempted, without success, to seize the throne of Naples.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Storage jar (albarello) with a profile portraitStorage jar (albarello) with a profile portraitStorage jar (albarello) with a profile portraitStorage jar (albarello) with a profile portraitStorage jar (albarello) with a profile portrait

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.