Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Tray

ca. 1811–22
Not on view
Belli’s version of the Empire style is seen here to be more relaxed and ingratiating than the contemporary French interpretation with its formal, rather static elegance. The friezes of putti are charming for their playfulness, and their dancelike rhythm is echoed in the graceful postures of the erotes on the handles and the figures of Loyalty and Friendship—attended by a faithful dog—on the cover.

The iconography reflects a mixture of influences, including the reliefs of infants made in Rome in the seventeenth century by the Flemish-born sculptor François Duquesnoy, and such lighthearted figures as those painted on the walls of the house of Vettii at Pompeii. The bowl itself—possibly a sugar bowl ow an individual tureen—is of an attenuated neoclassical form well suited to the easy grace of the figures.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Tray
  • Maker: Giovacchino Belli (Italian, 1756–1822, master 1787)
  • Date: ca. 1811–22
  • Culture: Italian, Rome
  • Medium: Silver gilt
  • Classification: Metalwork-Silver
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Gift of Mrs. Harold D. Shattuck, by exchange, 1981
  • Object Number: 1981.204.2
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Sugar bowl with cover
Giovacchino Belli (Italian, 1756–1822, master 1787)
ca. 1811–22
Hiawatha, Edmonia Lewis American, Marble, American
Hiawatha
Edmonia Lewis
1868
Tray, Michael Wissmar, Silver gilt, German, Breslau (Wrocław)
Tray
Michael Wissmar
1737–45
Minnehaha, Edmonia Lewis American, Marble, American
Minnehaha
Edmonia Lewis
1868
Tray (one of a pair), Johann Conrad Lotter German, Silver gilt, German, Augsburg
Tray (one of a pair)
Johann Conrad Lotter
ca. 1743–45

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.