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| Roman Empire Cup with Skeleton-figures in high relief (from Boscoreale) 1st century BC silver Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples |
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| Roman Empire Cup with Bacchic motifs in high relief early first century AD silver Princeton University Art Museum |
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| Byzantine Empire The Rubens Vase AD 400 agate with later gold mount Walters Art Museum, Baltimore |
"Carved in high relief from a single piece of agate, this vase was most likely created in an imperial workshop for a Byzantine emperor. It made its way to France, probably carried off as treasure after the sack of Constantinople in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade, where it passed through the hands of some of the most renowned collectors of western Europe, including the Dukes of Anjou and King Charles V. In 1615 the vase was purchased by the great Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens. A drawing that he made of it is now in Saint Petersburg at the Hermitage. The subsequent fate of the vase before the 19th century is obscure. The gold mount around its rim is struck with a French gold-standard mark used ca. 1809-1819. A similar late Roman agate vessel, the Waddesdon Vase or Cellini Vase [directly below], is now in the British Museum."
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| Roman Empire The Waddesdon Vase or The Cellini Vase AD 400 agate with later enameled-gold mounts British Museum |
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| Anonymous Chinese and French artisans Bowl with relief pattern of flowering prunus ca. 1720-30 (bowl), mid-18th century (mounts) Chinese porcelain, with French ormolu mounts Walters Art Museum, Baltimore |
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| Anonymous German artisans Finial with ivy and acanthus motifs ca. 1250 gilding on silver-plated copper with inlays of niello on silver Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
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| Anonymous European aritsans Drawstring Bag ca. 1780-1820 gold wire mesh, seed pearls Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
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| Anonymous Italian artisans Liturgical Fan (Flabellum) 12th century tempera on vellum Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
"Ecclesiastical ornament. Painted vellum plaited to form a circle, bands at center and edge, flowers in blues and reds on both sides. Ivory handle, buttons at center, set with tiny plaques of mother-of-pearl and nielloed silver gilt."
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| René Lalique Pansy Brooch ca. 1903 glass, enameled-gold, sapphire Walters Art Museum, Baltimore |
"Henry Walters bought this piece from Lalique in 1904 at the World's Fair in St Louis, Missouri. Due to its sheer size and delicacy, the Pansy Brooch, like many of Lalique's other floral jewelry creations, was probably never intended to be worn."
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| Anonymous Dutch artisans Console Table ca. 1650-75 carved linden-wood legs, marble top Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Anonymous German artisans Carnet de bal ca. 1760 mother-of-pearl, ivory, gold Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
"Gold-mounted mother-of-pearl carnet de bal [for dance cards] of shaped outline, carved in relief with C-scrolls, rocaille and foliage. Appliqué in gold with crowned eagle, recumbent lion and birds. Appliqué on reverse with a crowned eagle holding a sword on a globe and stand. With the original pencil and with four shaped ivory swiveling cards that conceal a mirror panel. One card is inscribed Fais bien et laisse dire! [i.e., behave well and then let them talk]. The coats-of-arms are possibly those of William II of Prussia. In 1938 this object belonged to Alphonse and Clarice de Rothschild of Vienna, where it was confiscated by Nazi forces. Recovered by Allied forces about 1947-50 and returned to Clarice de Rothschild in New York. By descent to her daughter, Bettina Looram de Rothschild (1924-2012). Gift of the heirs of Bettina Looram de Rothschild to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston."
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| Anonymous French artisans Pencil with Flowers ca. 1750-1800 beadwork (sablé) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
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| Roman Empire Trapezophoros with Winged Griffins 1st century BC marble Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
"This marble trapezophoros is one of pair of supports for a large tabletop that probably stood in the atrium of a wealthy family's house. Its two sides are finely carved with grape vines and floral sprays issuing from acanthus fronds. At either end of the support, the head and torso of a winged griffin emerge from a feline leg. They form a striking contrast to the delicate floral decoration with their deep relief and powerful musculature, thereby solidly grounding what must have been a monumental piece of furniture."
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| Anonymous Armenian artisans Volume of the Gospels (no date given) tooled leather binding with metal plaques over wooden boards Walters Art Museum, Baltimore |
– quoted texts based on curator's notes at the respective museums