Scent bottle

Vienna

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The importance attached to small luxury objects is reflected in the sumptuous decoration of this bottle, which includes gold mounts designed to coordinate with the painted motifs. The concept of gallantry at the time encompassed the ownership of such objects (often known as galanteries), which reflected the owner’s good taste and position in society.

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