Oval Dish
1800–1900
Medium
Pen and ink and wash
Dimensions
8-1/4 x 13-1/4 in
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.692.19
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate *Oval Dish*, created by an anonymous Italian artist between 1800 and 1900, captures the elegance of 19th-century decorative design in pen and ink with wash on paper (8-1/4 x 13-1/4 in.). Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of Drawings and Prints, exemplifies the preparatory sketches vital to Italian workshops producing fine ceramics, silver, or glassware. During this era, Italy's artisan traditions—rooted in Renaissance maiolica and revived amid Romantic nationalism—emphasized ornate tableware, blending classical motifs with intricate patterns for the burgeoning...