Incense burner

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An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Scent was an important feature of grand European households in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Foul-smelling air was associated with the spread of disease, so scented waters, fresh flowers, pot-pourris, and perfume burners were used to improve the atmosphere. A perfume burner like this one emitted the smoke of a pastille made from ingredients like rosewater, myrtle, and orange, which burned gently over a charcoal fire.

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