The Abduction of Hippodamia

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In Greek mythology, the Lapiths invited the centaurs to their king’s wedding. The centaurs drank profusely and attempted to abduct the bride, shown here struggling in her tormentors’ arms as the hero Theseus draws his sword. The battle with the centaurs was often represented during the Renaissance as an allegory of civilization’s triumph over barbarism. The composition was based on a 1542 engraving by the Italian printmaker Enea Vico (1523–1567).

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