Pair of gloves

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Some carry in their hands feather fans, others nothing; but all wear very costly gloves,” noted an Italian visitor to London in summer 1618. Indeed, by the early seventeenth century, small goods could be purchased from shops or peddlers, making objects such as readymade gloves, purses, ribbons, caps, and trimmings available to consumers. “This fashion of gloves is so universal,” the visitor continued, “that even the porters wear them very ostentatiously.” These tapestry-woven, light colored gloves, which showcase an arrangement of popular flowers—carnations, roses, harebells, pansies, and strawberry plants—were likely purchased from a shop, rather than designed for an individual. Although readymade, the gloves were still a luxury; this pair comprises pink, green, citron, and blue silks joined with salmon-colored silk ribbon, lined in taffeta, and edged with metallic bobbin lace and paillettes. They may originally have been perfumed, as well. -Sarah Bochicchio, 2020

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