Cabinet on stand

Jan van Mekeren

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Box-like cabinets on open stands became fashionable towards the end of the seventeenth century. Rather than on the overall shape, the attention of the cabinetmaker was lavished on exquisite marquetry decoration, especially blomwerk (floral work). The most striking floral marquetry has been attributed to Jan van Meekeren. More than two hundred flowers embellish this cabinet, several of which occur more than once, sometimes in reverse. By choosing bright yellow woods like barberry for daffodils, for instance, and by enhancing lighter woods with natural dyes, Van Mekeren achieved a rich and naturalistic palette not unlike those of contemporary flower painters.

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