Cravat

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Venetian gros point needle lace, characterized by bold patterns that combined heavily padded outlines and delicate filling stitches, first became popular in the mid-seventeenth century. In late nineteenthcentury Austria, a number of lace schools were established under the patronage of Empress Elizabeth. One of these, the K. K. Zentral- Spitzenkurs, or Central Lace Exchange of Vienna, became known for its copies of Venetian gros point that incorporated partially detached elements, an innovation that augmented the threedimensional effect. This border contains elements in the style of Josef Storck, head designer at the Zentral-Spitzenkurs.

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