Cup with cover

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The inscription underfoot records that this cup was given by King Charles II to his Chancellor of the Exchequer, Anthony Ashley, in 1664. The royal emblems engraved on the lobed walls and cover, and the absence of hallmarks—the king was exempt from taxation on silver—reconfirm that this cup bears witness to royal taste and royal bounty.

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