Embroidered panels for a man's suit

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The multiple pieces here, comprising the cuffs, collar, and front panels for a man's coat (including pocket flaps, vents, and buttons in two sizes) as well as knee bands for breeches, represent a suit ready to be cut and sewn to the client’s measurements. This method of tailoring (à la disposition) allowed visitors to Versailles to dress themselves quickly according to the latest French taste. The colorful floral embroidery—a testament to the high quality of French needlework—guaranteed that the wearer would cut a dashing figure.

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