Allegory of Water (Neptune Rescuing Amymone)

Jacques Germain Soufflot

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

George William, sixth earl of Coventry, commissioned this set of tapestries (58.75.2–.13) in Paris in 1763 for the tapestry room at his country seat, Croome Court (Worcestershire), which was then being remodeled by Robert Adam. The resulting ensemble was the first weaving of this design with a crimson background and it may have been the first made specifically to extend around all four walls of a room without architectural frames. The harmonious and decorative quality of the ensemble was enhanced by the provision of en suite furniture covers. The set, comprising twelve pieces of wall covering and thirty-three pieces of furniture upholstery, was delivered and in place by January 1771. This particular tapestry shows the element Water or Neptune rescuing Amnymone in the medallion based on a painting by François Boucher.

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