Brisé Cockade Fan, with Painted Floral Posy

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This fan represents the epitome of highest quality and design sought by Europeans from China throughout the nineteenth century- and imitated in Europe by less technically precocious pieces such as The Met's British-made fan 65.80.14. The incredibly fine detailing of the fretwork in this Chinese example is unusually well-preserved, suggesting that this large fan was made as a presentation gift, not intended to be used.

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