
Basin
Abraham Portal
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Although silver made by the Jewel Office for diplomatic officers was generally classical in inspiration, this ewer (68.141.316) and basin (68.141.317) represent a rare foray into the rococo style. They were part of a large service for three dozen guests made for Sir Charles Hanbury Williams’s embassy to Russia in 1755.
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.