Object conservators discuss how to repair chips in gilded porcelain

Mirrors, a commonplace fixture in the modern world, were not always the familiar accessory that they are today. Although some form of mirror has existed since ancient times, mirrors such as this 18th-century example used early industrial processes to create the fragile, metal-coated glass panes placed within a decorative frame. During the 18th century glass-making...

From our archives, an Object of the Day on the Japonism-inspired wallpaper that was once installed in the Rockefeller mansion formerly at 4 West 54th Street in New York City.

This porcelain mug commemorates the day that the Soviet Union sent the first human into space. The mug features the date, April 12, 1961, that Yuri Gagarin’s launch took place and it depicts a rocket, embellished with gold, moving past an image of the earth. The mug was manufactured by the Dmitrov Porcelain Factory which...

This Spanish textile features confronted leopards or cheetahs within a geometric framework, an enduring motif that probably originated in early Islamic Egypt or Persia. Woven in the 15th century by Islamic weavers, this silk lampas may have been produced in Almería, a center of silk production in Andalucía and a source of blue and gold...