Plaque depicting Bernard Palissy

Sèvres Manufactory

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This plaque depicts the celebrated French Renaissance potter Bernard Palissy (1509–1590) sacrificing his household furniture to provide fuel for his kiln, an episode described in his own writings. In this composition, the event is illustrated with the romanticism and sense of drama for which the mid-nineteenth century is known. The plaque is distinguished by the elaborate gilt-bronze, enamel, and bicuit-porcelain frame that is a compendium of motifs and styles from the French Renaissance. Together, they embody the interest in historicism that existed throughout much of the nineteenth century.

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