Sampler with geometric motifs

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Samplers such as this, with decorative patterns some of which are only partially finished, illustrate examples of designs that might be used on household linens or accessories of dress. They are not signed or dated by the makers because they are for reference, not for display.

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