Musical Party in a Garden

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

While there is a long tradition of exceptional professional embroidery in England, domestic needlework attained a high point in the seventeenth century, when it was a requisite skill of accomplished young women. In addition to clothing and accessories, mirror frames, writing boxes, table covers, and pictures were decorated with embroidery. Prints served as sources for figures, flowers, and animals, which were drawn onto the fabric and given to the embroideresses. Frequently depicted themes include Old Testament stories, political subjects, allegories, and scenes of daily life. Musical Garden Party presents activities at a country house. In a formal garden, ladies perform for an appreciative male audience. By using fine-gauge canvas and silk threads, the embroideress was able to capture many fashion details such as feathered hats, lace trimming, and the floral pattern of a gown. Facial features, however, are left unembroidered. The hovering putto with bow and arrow hints at impending romance.

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