Bowl with The Virgin and the Unicorn and arms of Matthias Corvinus and Beatrice of Aragon

Bowl with The Virgin and the Unicorn and arms of Matthias Corvinus and Beatrice of Aragon

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This large bowl or dish belongs to a set made as a gift for the king and queen of Hungary; their royal arms appear at the top, interrupting the elaborate border. Concentric circles of ribbons, flowers, and geometric designs act as a framing device for the central scene, where the woman and unicorn probably symbolize chastity. Beautiful and functional, a dish like this one might have hung from a wall at times and been used at a table at others.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bowl with The Virgin and the Unicorn and arms of Matthias Corvinus and Beatrice of AragonBowl with The Virgin and the Unicorn and arms of Matthias Corvinus and Beatrice of AragonBowl with The Virgin and the Unicorn and arms of Matthias Corvinus and Beatrice of AragonBowl with The Virgin and the Unicorn and arms of Matthias Corvinus and Beatrice of AragonBowl with The Virgin and the Unicorn and arms of Matthias Corvinus and Beatrice of Aragon

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.