European Decorative Arts

The European Decorative Arts collection comprises approximately 7,000 objects, more than 1,300 of which are from the legendary collection of J. Pierpont Morgan. These include ancient glass and bronzes, Italian maiolica, Venetian and façon de venise glass, nautilus cups, ostrich egg ewers, mounted ivories, silver-gilt vessels, Meissen porcelain, and Vincennes and Sèvres porcelain.

The museum has a large collection of ceramics, including Pre-Columbian pottery, Chinese export and domestic porcelain, 18th and 19th century English pottery and porcelain, Berlin and Meissen Art Nouveau porcelain, and 19th century Sèvres porcelain. Other highlights include English silver from the Elizabeth B. Miles Collection, ceramic veilleuses from The Harold and Wendy Newman Collection, and The Richard and Georgette A. Koopman Collection of Dutch Delft.

Cabinet of Art and Curiosity
The Wadsworth Atheneum’s Cabinet of Art and Curiosity is an immersive, interactive environment that fills one entire gallery with over 200 awe-inspiring European Decorative Arts objects. Click here to read more about the Cabinet of Art and Curiosity.

Search the European Decorative Arts Collection
Use this link to search for objects in the European Decorative Arts collection. Please note: digitizing artworks is an ongoing process, so this search is not representative of the museum’s entire collection. You can identify objects that are currently on view via the Object Description box, in the “Currently on view?” field.

Updates to our database are made weekly, so if you plan to visit the museum to see a specific work of art please call the Information Desk in advance of your visit at (860) 838-4100, Wednesday through Sunday from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm to ensure availability.

Browse our curator’s collection highlights using the gallery below.
Images below do not reflect what is currently on view.