Toasting fork

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

One of only two known 16th-century toasting forks, this was used to toast apples, cheese, or "puddings" in front of a fire. The inlaid initials, outline of a railing, and a tun (a type of band) create a rebus that may refer to a member of the Railton family of Norfolk.

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