Decorative Art, MUḥ-PEA

People appreciate the usefulness of things like glassware and furniture, but they appreciate such objects even more when they’re aesthetically pleasing, too. That’s where decorative art comes in. Explore the world of basketry, metalwork, pottery, interior design, tapestry, and more.
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Decorative Art Encyclopedia Articles By Title

Muḥammadī
Muḥammadī was one of the leading court painters during the time (1548–97) that the Ṣafavid capital was Qazvīn.......
Muẓaffar ʿAlī
Muẓaffar ʿAlī was a Persian miniaturist and calligrapher known best for his elegant human figures in rich, lyrical......
Mérida, Carlos
Carlos Mérida was a Guatemalan artist who was known primarily as a muralist and printmaker. From 1910 to 1914 Mérida......
Nabis
Nabis, group of artists who, through their widely diverse activities, exerted a major influence on the art produced......
nageire
nageire, (Japanese: “thrown in”), in Japanese floral art, the style of arranging that stresses fresh and spontaneous......
nailhead
nailhead, projecting ornamental molding resembling the head of a nail, used in early Gothic architecture. Nailheads......
nanduti
nanduti, (Guaraní Indian: “spider web”), type of lace introduced into Paraguay by the Spaniards. It is generally......
Nanking porcelain
Nanking porcelain, Chinese blue-and-white porcelain made for export during the Qing dynasty (especially in the......
Nantgarw porcelain
Nantgarw porcelain, an English granular, soft-paste porcelain, pure white in colour, containing bone ash. It was......
nashiji
nashiji, in Japanese lacquerwork, form of maki-e (q.v.) that is frequently employed for the background of a pattern.......
naskhī script
naskhī script, Islāmic style of handwritten alphabet developed in the 4th century of the Islāmic era (i.e., the......
nastaʿlīq script
nastaʿlīq script, predominant style of Persian calligraphy during the 15th and 16th centuries. The inventor was......
Navajo weaving
Navajo weaving, blankets and rugs made by the Navajo and thought to be some of the most colourful and best-made......
needle lace
needle lace, with bobbin lace, one of the two main kinds of lace. In needle lace the design is drawn on a piece......
needlepoint
needlepoint, type of embroidery known as canvas work until the early 19th century. In needlepoint the stitches......
nef
nef, European vessel in the form of a medieval ship, often complete with rigging. Although occasionally made of......
negligee
negligee, informal gown, usually of a soft sheer fabric, worn at home by women. When the corset was fashionable,......
nephrite
nephrite, a gem-quality silicate mineral in the tremolite–actinolite series of amphiboles. It is the less prized......
Nesch, Rolf
Rolf Nesch was a German-born Norwegian printmaker and painter who was one of the first artists to use metal collage......
netsuke
netsuke, ornamental togglelike piece, usually of carved ivory, used to attach a medicine box, pipe, or tobacco......
Nevers faience
Nevers faience, French tin-glazed earthenware introduced from Italy to Nevers in 1565, by two brothers named Corrado.......
Nevers glass figure
Nevers glass figure, any of the ornamental glassware made in Nevers, Fr., from the late 16th century through the......
Newson, Marc
Marc Newson is an Australian designer known most notably for creating unique household goods, furniture, and interior......
Nicholas Of Verdun
Nicholas Of Verdun was the greatest enamelist and goldsmith of his day and an important figure in the transition......
Niderviller ware
Niderviller ware, French faience (tin-glazed earthenware) and porcelain produced in the 18th and 19th centuries......
niello
niello, black metallic alloy of sulfur with silver, copper, or lead that is used to fill designs that have been......
Ningxia carpet
Ningxia carpet, floor covering woven in Hui Autonomous Region of Ningxia, China, characterized by stylized floral......
Ninsei
Ninsei was a Japanese potter active in Kyōto during the Edo period between the Meireki (1655–57) and the Genroku......
Nishapur pottery
Nishapur pottery, Islāmic ceramics produced at Nishapur (modern Neyshābūr, Iran) that were of bold style and showed......
Northwood, John
John Northwood was an English glassmaker, a technical innovator who sparked a resurgence of British interest in......
Norwich ware
Norwich ware, delft (tin-glazed) earthenware produced in Norwich, Norfolk, Eng., of which little is known. About......
nose ring
nose ring, ornament inserted through different parts of the nose for personal adornment and used sometimes to signify......
nosegay
nosegay, small, hand-held bouquet popular in mid- 19th-century Victorian England as an accessory carried by fashionable......
Nove ware
Nove ware, primarily majolica, or tin-glazed earthenware, made in Nove, Italy, in the 18th century. The factory......
nymphaeum
nymphaeum, ancient Greek and Roman sanctuary consecrated to water nymphs. The name—though originally denoting a......
Nymphenburg porcelain
Nymphenburg porcelain, German hard-paste, or true, porcelain produced in Bavaria from around the middle of the......
Nürnberg faience
Nürnberg faience, German tin-glazed earthenware made at Nürnberg between 1712 and 1840. It is among the earliest......
obi
obi, wide sash or belt made of satin or a stiff silk material, worn since ancient times in Japan to secure the......
Oeben, Jean-François
Jean-François Oeben was an influential French cabinetmaker noted for his outstanding marquetry and for his ingenious......
Ogata Kenzan
Ogata Kenzan was a Japanese potter and painter, brother to the artist Ogata Kōrin. He signed himself Kenzan, Shisui,......
Ogata Kōrin
Ogata Kōrin was a Japanese artist of the Tokugawa period (1603–1868), regarded, along with Sōtatsu, as one of the......
ogee clock
ogee clock, clock design that originated in the United States in the 1830s, distinguished by a case the front outer......
Ohara
Ohara, Japanese school of floral art, founded by Ohara Unshin in the early 20th century, which introduced the moribana......
oinochoe
oinochoe, wine jug from the classical period of Greek pottery. A graceful vessel with delicately curved handle......
onyx
onyx, striped, semiprecious variety of the silica mineral agate with white and black alternating bands. Onyx is......
opal
opal, silica mineral extensively used as a gemstone, a submicrocrystalline variety of cristobalite. In ancient......
opaline glass
opaline glass, usually opaque glass or crystal, either white or coloured, made in France between approximately......
Oppenheimer, Sir Ernest
Sir Ernest Oppenheimer was a German-born industrialist, financier, and one of the most successful leaders in the......
opus alexandrinum
opus alexandrinum, in mosaic, type of decorative pavement work widely used in Byzantium in the 9th century. It......
opus anglicanum
opus anglicanum, (Latin: “English work”), embroidery done in England between about 1100 and about 1350 and of a......
opus interassile
opus interassile, metalwork technique developed in Rome and widely used during the 3rd century ad, especially appropriate......
opus sectile
opus sectile, type of mosaic work in which figural patterns are composed of pieces of stone or, sometimes, shell......
opus signinum
opus signinum, in mosaic, type of simple, unpatterned or roughly patterned pavement commonly used in Roman times.......
opus tessellatum
opus tessellatum, mosaic technique that involves the use of tesserae (small cubes of stone, marble, glass, ceramic,......
opus vermiculatum
opus vermiculatum, type of mosaic work frequently used in Hellenistic and Roman times, in which part or all of......
orangery
orangery, garden building designed for the wintering of exotic shrubs and trees, primarily orange trees. The earliest......
orb
orb, emblem of royal power, usually made of precious metal and jewels and consisting of a sphere surmounted by......
Oribe ware
Oribe ware, type of Japanese ceramics, usually glazed in blue or green and first appearing during the Keichō and......
orient
orient, the faint play of colours on the surface of a pearl...
origami
origami, art of folding objects out of paper to create both two-dimensional and three-dimensional subjects. The......
Orley, Bernard van
Bernard van Orley was a Flemish painter of religious subjects and portraits and designer of tapestries. Orley was......
Orlov diamond
Orlov diamond, rose-cut gem from India, one of the Romanov crown jewels; it is shaped like half an egg, with facets......
ormolu
ormolu, (from French dorure d’or moulu: “gilding with gold paste”), gold-coloured alloy of copper, zinc, and sometimes......
orphrey
orphrey, highly elaborate embroidery work, or a piece of such embroidery. More specifically orphrey is an ornamental......
Orrefors glass
Orrefors glass, fine 20th-century glass produced by a glasshouse at Orrefors in the south of Sweden. In 1916 and......
Orvieto ware
Orvieto ware, Italian maiolica, a tin-glazed earthenware produced originally at Orvieto, in Umbria, from the 13th......
ottoman
ottoman, deeply upholstered seat of any shape, with or without a back, introduced into Europe in the late 18th......
Ottoman court carpet
Ottoman court carpet, floor covering handwoven under the earlier Ottoman sultans of Turkey. Extremely fine, handsome......
Ottweiler porcelain
Ottweiler porcelain, true, or hard-paste, German porcelain produced in the Rhineland from 1763 onward. The factory......
Oudry, Jean-Baptiste
Jean-Baptiste Oudry was a French Rococo painter, tapestry designer, and illustrator, considered one of the greatest......
ozier pattern
ozier pattern, in tableware, molded basket-weave pattern produced in Germany in the 1730s on Meissen porcelain......
O’Gorman, Juan
Juan O’Gorman was a Mexican architect and muralist, known for his mosaic designs that adorned the facades of buildings.......
packaging
packaging, the technology and art of preparing a commodity for convenient transport, storage, and sale. Though......
paisley
paisley, textile pattern characterized by colourful, curved abstract figures; it is named for the shawls manufactured......
pajamas
pajamas, loose, lightweight trousers first worn in the East, or a loose two-piece suit consisting of trousers and......
palas
palas, pileless, handwoven floor covering made in most of the rug-weaving areas of the Middle East. The term is......
Palissy, Bernard
Bernard Palissy was a French Huguenot potter and writer, particularly associated with decorated rustic ware, a......
pan
pan, type of Chinese bronze vessel produced during the Shang dynasty (c. 18th–12th century bc) and, more commonly,......
Panderma rug
Panderma rug, any of several types of floor coverings handwoven at Panderma (now Bandırma), a town in Turkey on......
paneling
paneling, in architecture and design, decorative treatment of walls, ceilings, doors, and furniture consisting......
pao
pao, wide-sleeved robe of a style worn by Chinese men and women from the Han dynasty (206 bc–ad 220) to the end......
papier-mâché
papier-mâché, repulped paper that has been mixed with glue or paste so that it can be molded. The art of making......
parfleche
parfleche, tough, folded rawhide carrying bag made by the Plains Indians of North America; more loosely applied,......
Parian ware
Parian ware, porcelain introduced about 1840 by the English firm of Copeland & Garrett, in imitation of Sèvres......
Paris ware
Paris ware, faience (tin-glazed earthenware) and porcelain ware produced in the Paris region from the 16th century.......
park
park, large area of ground set aside for recreation. The earliest parks were those of the Persian kings, who dedicated......
parka
parka, hip-length, hooded jacket traditionally made of caribou, seal, or other fur, worn as an outer garment by......
Parsons table
Parsons table, simple, sturdy rectangular table having straight lines, overall flush surfaces, and square legs......
parterre
parterre, the division of garden beds in such a way that the pattern is itself an ornament. It is a sophisticated......
parure
parure, matched set of jewelry consisting of such pieces as earrings, bracelet, brooch, necklace, and ring. By......
paste
paste, heavy, very transparent flint glass that simulates the fire and brilliance of gemstones because it has relatively......
patch box
patch box, small, usually rectangular, sometimes oval box used mostly as a receptacle for beauty patches, especially......
patchwork
patchwork, the process of joining strips, squares, triangles, hexagons, or other shaped pieces of fabric (also......
Paterna ware
Paterna ware, tin-glazed earthenware produced in the 14th and 15th centuries at Paterna, near Valencia, in eastern......
patio
patio, in Spanish and Latin American architecture, a courtyard within a building, open to the sky. It is a Spanish......
patola
patola, type of silk sari (characteristic garment worn by Indian women) of Gujarati origin, the warp and weft being......
patralatā
patralatā, decorative motif in Indian art, consisting of a lotus rhizome (underground plant stem). A cosmology......
pattern glass
pattern glass, pressed glassware produced in sets of many pieces decorated with the same pattern. Manufactured......
pavilion
pavilion, light temporary or semipermanent structure used in gardens and pleasure grounds. Although there are many......
peachblow glass
peachblow glass, American art glass made in the latter part of the 19th century by factories such as the Mount......

Decorative Art Encyclopedia Articles By Title