Harlequin

Gardner Manufactory

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In 1766, the English entrepreneur Francis Gardner, with the permission of Catherine the Great, established the first great porcelain factory in the Russian empire, in the town of Verbilky. The factory operated under the Gardner name until 1892, when it was acquired by M. S. Kusnetsov, who continued the production as Kusnetsov Brothers until 1917. This pair of porcelain figures (see also 1982.60.158)　reflects the enchantment of the Saint Petersburg nobility and the imperial court with masquerades, metamorphoses, and theme balls. Such figures also reflect the fascination of the so-called Venice of the North with southern Europe and its theatrical characters, such as those of the commedia dell'arte.

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