Chasuble

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This chasuble- the tabard-like garment worn by a priest officiating at Catholic church services- belongs to a set partially surviving at The Met, alongside a stole (16.32.331), towel-like maniple (16.32.332), and chalice veil (16.32.330). Against a fine cream satin silk ground, talented professional embroiderers portrayed peacocks, doves, and pelicans- Christian symbols of immortality, of God, and of Christ's sacrifice- alongside fountains and winged cherub heads, all set within an elegant framework of scrolling arabesques. Such decorative grotesques, so-called in evocation of recently-excavated Roman grotto-like subterranean wall paintings, were extremely popular throughout sixteenth-century Europe for both sacred and secular ornamentation.

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