Bowl with Lucretia Bella

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is an early example of the Belle donne ("beautiful women") ceramics popular throughout the Renaissance. They were probably made as amorous gifts, although it is difficult to know if they are really portraits of individuals. Because of the imagery of this bowl it may refer to Lucrezia de’Medici, the daughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent (whose birthtray is displayed in this gallery), born in 1470.

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