Water jar with spout (vase à bec)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This water jar comes from Saintes in southwestern France, which was an important center of ceramic production beginning as early as the thirteenth century. The city produced highly creative and versatile ceramics of the finest quality, including those of Saintes-born potter Bernard Palissy. This water jug's bold economic form testifies to the strength of the city's tradition in this craft. Its shape responds perfectly to its function: the round body is echoed in the hoop strap over the cylindrical neck, and three more straps join the neck to the waist in order to facilitate pouring. The thick lead glaze in bright green that coats and protects its surface is standard for lead-glazed green wares from the region. Its form appears to be unique to the sixteenth century.

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