Bottle with flowers of the four seasons

Bottle with flowers of the four seasons

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Although the square shape of the bottle replicates a Dutch glass vessel used for holding wine or spirits, the decoration of the flowers of the four seasons—including chrysanthemums symbolic of spring, and peonies for summer—is based on Chinese and Japanese traditions.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bottle with flowers of the four seasonsBottle with flowers of the four seasonsBottle with flowers of the four seasonsBottle with flowers of the four seasonsBottle with flowers of the four seasons

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.