Gilt-leather wall hanging (part of a set)

De Gecroonde Son

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Use of painted leather panels for the decoration of walls was long practiced in Spain. The first workshop to produce such decorative hangings in The Netherlands was established in Amsterdam by 1611. Typically Dutch is the use of molds to press a pattern in relief into the leather creating particularly sumptuous effects. Although generally known as gilt leather, silver leaf was applied to the prepared calf hides which were then covered by a yellow varnish making it resemble gilding. Among the garlands of fruits and flowers, are putti symbolizing the Five Senses.

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