Chessmen (32)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

These chessmen with baluster stems and finials denoting the rank of the piece are based on European models; the work, however, is unmistakably Oriental. The kings and queens are indicated by crowns, and the bishops by miters; the knights are horse heads, and the rooks have the form of crenelated towers with large flags at the top. The pawns are slim and elegant. The baluster stands all feature a carved, pierced, and undercut knop, which in the rook forms the mass of the tower. The bases are typical of many Chinese sets.

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