Pendant in the form of a centaur

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Baroque pearls provided a special challenge to the imagination of the Renaissance goldsmith. The rather difficult shape of this irregular pearl has been used in an ingenious way to suggest the hybrid form of the centaur, the half-human, half-equine creature of classical myth. The base of the jewel incorporates an earlier piece of gold filigree work in a lobed pattern associated with Hispano-Moresque design. In addition, although reenameled, it displays traces of the dull enameled colors used by Hispano-Moresque goldsmiths. The jewel-decorated band on the side of the base, the chains, and the canopy from which the chains are suspended are later additions.

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