Pair of sconces

Isaac Liger

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fluid and whimsical satyrs’ masks chased on the backplate of these sconces are the work of a gifted master, most likely one trained abroad. Sconces were often made in large sets to light the private rooms of a great house—in this case, perhaps the bedroom.

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