Pendant in the Form of Neptune and a Sea Monster

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This pendant is a typical example of the kind of jewelry that was fashionable during the last half of the 16th and beginnings of the 17th century in which natural materials such as (semi-) precious stones, choral and pearls were combined with precious metals and colorful enamel. In this pendant, the shape and provenance (the water) of the pearl are cleverly used as inspiration for its design in which the pearl forms the main body of a sea monster and is surmounted by the figure of the Roman sea god Neptune.

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