Sugar bowl (part of a set)

Paul Storr

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This tea set is an example of work done by Paul Storr while working exclusively for the firm of Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, which supplied designs. The set is probably from a design by William Theed II (1764–1817), who was a product of the art school connected with the Royal Academy. He spent time in Rome and Naples before returning to England as a designer, modeler, and sculptor. From 1803, he was principle designer to the Rundell firm. The teapot is inspired by an ancient Roman hand lamp, the spout recalling the form of the wickholders, the hinged cover was added to bring the "lamp" into line with contemporary teapots. Everything about the set suggests massiveness and strength. The armorial achievement of the first owner, Anne Catherine McDonnell, countess of Antrim, is engraved—with two supporters, a "wild man" crowned with ivy and a falcon—and is ensigned with the countess' coronet. The McDonnell crest, separately engraved, appears next to this—an arm bent at the elbow and holding in its right hand a crosslet.

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