Wide-rimmed bowl with Hercules and Cacus and arms of Cardinal Antonio Pucci

workshop of Guido Durantino

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

With its wide rim and small but deep well, this type of bowl is called a scodello. These were sometimes filled with soup or stew at the table, and at other times were put before diners already filled. In either case, they could not hold much food. Renaissance meals generally consisted of multiple small courses and often lasted for several hours. In addition to displaying the host’s sophistication, the decorated wares would help keep diners entertained throughout.

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