Pair of vases (vases cuir)

Sèvres Manufactory

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The curious form of these vases was inspired by pilgrim flasks made of leather-encase gourds intended for carrying water. The modeling realistically creates the impression of cut leather panels laced together, enclosing an inner container. The painted decoration makes no reference, however, to the function of the pilgrim flasks; the figures of Cupid and Psyche are based on popular sculptures by Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716–1791).

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