Coffee urn

Tijmon Suyk

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The tapering cylindrical coffeepot that was popular in Europe and Britain was also used in the Netherlands. When silver was to be employed for the serving of coffee, however, the Dutch preferred the coffee urn, which could have from one to three spouts. Many surviving Dutch silver coffee urns are ambitious in design and rich in execution, suggesting that they were intended for an affluent clientele. This example reflects the lingering popularity in the Netherlands of the Louis XIV style, seen here in the decorative motifs of acanthus leaves, tassels, and interlaced scrollwork.

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