Chessmen (32)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The classic oppositon of Christian and Muslim seems here to be presented as an opposition between Tyroleans and one of the Muslim peoples within the Austro-Hungarian Empire (possibly in an area of modern Yugoslavia, such as Bosnia-Herzegovina). The dress of the queens is clearly modeled on the styles of the period 1828 to 1835, but the pieces are undoubtedly of later date. The king of the Christian side bears a strong resemblance to Emperor Franz Josef and may be taken from a youthful portrait of him. The Muslims are the light side.

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