Jar

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

These two jars, which were probably used to store water, are decorated with lively scenes centered on the public fountains that provided water for daily use. Subjects include popular types like the water carrier, burdened by his characteristic chochocol, a large earthenware jar used to deliver water. In another scene, a bloody brawl between two water carriers has broken out. The treatment of these subjects belongs to the literary and pictorial tradition of "costumbrismo," which highlights the customs, occupations, and dress of a particular place.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art