Ewer

Jean-Baptiste-François Chéret

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The draped garlands below the rim, the scrolling bands of arabesques in the middle, and the water leaves above the foot of this ewer are standard Neoclassical motifs typically found on late eighteenth-century French silver. The unexpected feature of the ewer, however, is the handle in the form of Narcissus emerging from a pedestal. The half bust of Narcissus is placed so that he leans forward, gazing down at the undecorated but highly reflective surface of the hinged cover. The three-dimensional representation of the Narcissus story, very cleverly conceived, distinguishes this ewer as an exceptional example of French silver of the late eighteenth century. The ewer would have been accompanied originally by a basin, and both would have been used for washing as part of the daily ritual and grooming known in France as la toilette.

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