Length

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The complicated figural composition and the color combination of red and yellow, as well as the choice of materials and technique, relate this fabric to earlier traditions in Florentine weaving. In this example, disparate decorative motifs, arranged in a fluid, nearly narrative manner, have a convincing coexistence despite their symmetrical arrangement: dolphins' tails merge into a cartouche that in turn forms the support for an elaborate vase, which is simultaneously a container for a variety of flowers, in whose leaves nest two birds, and a ledge for two winged figures that confront the amorini, bows and arrows at their feet, below. That this particular composition, with motif variations, is also known in different color schemes and fabric types attests to its popularity as a design for a number of furnishing uses.

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