Double-bladed fish server

Andrei Astrakhantsev

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Such servers were used to pick up and grasp a portion of food. This sublime exacmple is a typical representative for the opulent dining tradition in mid-nineteenth century Russia. The form and decoration was developed in England between 1790 and 1830 and most likely introduced to Russia through some of the English goldsmiths working in Moscow and Saint Petersburg since the early 19th 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