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The Metropolitan Museum of Art Chinese Dragon Rank Badge Apron and Tea Towel Set
61.95 USD
Art-inspired gifts for the home. The motif featured on our apron and tea towel nods to a Chinese rank badge made in the 18th-19th century during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Spectacularly embroidered rank badges were worn by government officials of the Ming and Qing dynasties; badges with birds indicated a civil official while animals such as the tiger were reserved for military officers, and each creature corresponded to a specific rank. In this example, a ferocious dragon with deer hooves hovers amid swirling clouds over a raging sea. Typically, the dragon was associated with the imperial family, with specific features such as the number of claws indicating the status of the wearer.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art William Morris Botanical Print Napkin Set
67.95 USD
Our cotton napkin set features four whimsical motifs by William Morris (British, 1834-1896): Fruit (or Pomegranate) (ca. 1866), Jasmine (1872), Strawberry Thief (design registered 1883, printed 1917-23), and Blackthorn (1892). Morris frequently looked to the English countryside for inspiration; as the Arts and Crafts movement's leading figure, he believed that beauty, order, and imagination were the necessary components of a strong design.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art Hokusai Great Wave Tea Towel
29.95 USD
Wash up with Katsushika Hokusai's (Japanese, 1760-1849) The Great Wave (ca. 1830-32), a timeless image of a monumental breaker. This renowned woodblock print in The Met collection belongs to a series entitled Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, in which Hokusai captures the imposing peak from a range of clever perspectives.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art William Morris Strawberry Thief Placemats
37.95 USD
Artful kitchen accessories inspired by The Met collection. This eye-catching cork-backed set of four placemats showcases a detail from Strawberry Thief (registered 1883, printed 1917-23), one of William Morris's (British, 1834-1896) most iconic creations. The inspiration for this kaleidoscopic textile in the Museum's holdings was derived from the designer's country home, Kelmscott Manor, where a community of thieving thrushes would pluck the strawberries from his garden.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art Unicorn Tea Towel
29.95 USD
Even among the rare treasures at The Met Cloisters, The Unicorn Rests in a Garden stands out as an exceptional highlight of the Museum's collection. Admire the medieval French and South Netherlandish masterpiece at home with our tea towel, featuring a reproduction of this whimsical feat of craftsmanship and botanical accuracy. The original is one of seven luxuriously woven hangings collectively known as the Unicorn Tapestries.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art Chinese Dragon Rank Badge Tea Towel
29.95 USD
Art-inspired gifts for the home. This eye-catching tea towel nods to a Chinese rank badge made in the 18th-19th century during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Spectacularly embroidered rank badges were worn by government officials of the Ming and Qing dynasties; badges with birds indicated a civil official while animals such as the tiger were reserved for military officers, and each creature corresponded to a specific rank. In this example, a ferocious dragon with deer hooves hovers amid swirling clouds over a raging sea. Typically, the dragon was associated with the imperial family, with specific features such as the number of claws indicating the status of the wearer.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Iznik Garden Apron
45.95 USD
Art-inspired gifts for the home. The lush scene reproduced on this 100% cotton apron comes from a painted stonepaste dish (ca. 1575-90) in The Met collection. Crafted in the Turkish town of Iznik, which was renowned for its pottery workshops, this exceptional Museum piece is adorned with colorful carnations, tulips, and hyacinths, as well as two small birds subtly perched amid the tangle. A popular Ottoman literary trope, birds and flowers were pervasive decorative elements on 16th- and 17th-century Iznik creations.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Van Gogh Irises Placemats
37.95 USD
Gifts for art lovers, inspired by The Met collection. Vincent van Gogh's iconic irises feature on these eye-catching cork placemats. Just before his departure from the Saint-Rémy asylum in May of 1890, the artist created four radiant spring bouquets, including the exuberant Irises (1890) in the Museum's collection of European paintings. Van Gogh sought to achieve a "harmonious and soft" effect by placing the "violet" flowers against a "pink background," but owing to his use of fugitive red pigments, these colors have since faded. Read our blog post