A classical decorative motif based on the leaves of the acanthus plant, commonly used in Corinthian capitals and other ornamentation.

A decorative technique in which pieces of material are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form pictures or patterns.

An ornamental design consisting of intertwined flowing lines, originally found in Arabic or Moorish decoration.

A framework used to support material being modeled in sculpture.

A style of visual arts, architecture, and design that first appeared in France just before World War I and became popular in the 1920s and 1930s, characterized by bold geometric shapes and rich colors.

An international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts, that was most popular between 1890 and 1910, characterized by intricate linear designs and flowing curves based on natural forms.

A vertical molded shaft, square or lathe-turned, found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features.

A highly ornate and often extravagant style of architecture, art, and music that flourished in Europe from the early 17th until the mid-18th century.

Unglazed porcelain or pottery that has been fired once but not yet glazed.

Decorative wood paneling on walls, especially as used in 17th and 18th century French interior design.

Gilded bronze, often used for decorative mounts on furniture and clocks.

A furniture leg that curves outward at the knee and inward at the ankle, commonly found in Queen Anne and Chippendale styles.

An ornamental tablet, often in the shape of a scroll, used for inscriptions or decoration.

An enameling technique in which cells are carved, etched, or cast into the surface of a metal object and filled with vitreous enamel.

A European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and East Asian artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, literature, theater, and music.

An ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects, in recent centuries using vitreous enamel, and in older periods also inlays of cut gemstones, glass, and other materials.

A network of fine cracks in the paint or varnish of a painting, or in ceramics, caused by aging or drying.

The art of inlaying different metals into one another, typically gold or silver into a darkly oxidized steel background, to produce intricate patterns.

A work of art consisting of two panels, often hinged together.

A style of French furnishings and decorations of the mid-1790s, characterized by Greco-Roman forms and Egyptian motifs.

A dense black hardwood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, used for fine furniture and inlay.

A printmaking technique that involves incising a design onto a hard, flat surface, by cutting grooves into it.

A style of decoration derived from ancient Greek, Roman, and Etruscan ornament.

Glazed ceramic ware, in particular decorated tin-glazed earthenware of the type that originated in Faenza, Italy.

Delicate and intricate ornamental work made from gold, silver, or other fine twisted wire.

A technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid lime plaster.

A white paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalk, gypsum, pigment, or any combination of these, used in artwork as a preparation for any number of substrates such as wood panels, canvas, and sculpture.

The process of applying gold leaf or gold paint.

A method of painting in gray monochrome, typically to imitate sculpture.

A mark stamped on articles of gold, silver, or platinum by the British assay offices, certifying their standard of purity.

A style of English furniture named after cabinetmaker George Hepplewhite, known for its graceful lines and simple elegance.

A tall chest of drawers on legs, typically in two sections, popular in 18th-century America.

A design incised or engraved into a material.

A decorative technique of inserting pieces of contrasting, often colored materials into depressions in a base object to form patterns or pictures.

A hard, creamy-white substance composing the main part of the tusks of an elephant, walrus, or narwhal, often used for carving fine art objects.

A type of finish that originated as a European imitation of Asian lacquerwork.

An artistic movement, especially in Germany, that is the German counterpart of Art Nouveau.

A type of pottery first developed by Josiah Wedgwood in the 1770s, noted for its matte finish and classical motifs.

A furnace or oven for burning, baking, or drying, especially one for firing ceramics.

The Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.

An early angular form of the Arabic alphabet found chiefly in decorative inscriptions.

A protective coating consisting of a resin, cellulose ester, or both, dissolved in a volatile solvent, sometimes with pigment added.

A print made by the process of lithography, invented in 1796 by Alois Senefelder.

A style of French neoclassical architecture and decorative arts, named after King Louis XVI, characterized by straight lines and classical ornamentation.

A type of earthenware pottery decorated with brightly colored lead glazes.

A decorative technique in which pieces of veneer are applied to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs, or pictures.

A picture or pattern produced by arranging together small colored pieces of hard material, such as stone, tile, or glass.

A style of art and architecture that emerged in the mid-18th century as a reaction to the ornate Rococo style, inspired by the classical art and culture of Ancient Greece and Rome.

A black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal.

Short for Art Nouveau, a style of decorative art, architecture, and design prominent in western Europe and the US from about 1890 until World War I.

Gilded bronze or brass used for decorative purposes, especially in furniture mounts and clocks.

A low upholstered seat or footstool without a back or arms that typically serves also as a box, with the seat hinged to form a lid.

A method of decorating pottery in which the decoration is applied on top of the glaze and then fired again.

A surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use, often referring to the green or brown film on the surface of bronze or similar metals.

An inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to create images.

A white vitrified translucent ceramic; china.

A decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter.

An art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs.

The external angle of a building or one of the stones used to form that angle.

A metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief.

An exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colors, sculpted molding, and trompe-l’œil frescoes to create surprise and the illusion of motion and drama.

A range of masonry techniques giving visible surfaces a finish that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared-block masonry surfaces called ashlar.

A decorative technique produced by scratching through a surface to reveal a lower layer of a contrasting color, often used in ceramics and wall painting.

A liquid mixture of clay and water applied to ceramics before firing, used for decoration or as a glue for joining pieces.

A wooden frame over which a canvas is stretched for painting.

A fine plaster used for coating wall surfaces or molding into architectural decorations.

A textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom, featuring decorative designs or scenes.

A type of earthenware, a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic, where the fired body is porous.

An artwork (usually a painting or relief) made up of three panels, often hinged together.

A method of decorating pottery in which the decoration is applied to the surface before it is glazed.

A vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal.

A transparent, hard, protective finish or film primarily used in wood finishing and also for paintings.

A fine parchment made originally from the skin of a calf, used for writing, printing, or binding books.

A painting method in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-based solution.

A printmaking technique in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed.

The art of engraving on wood, or of printing from such engravings.

A planographic printing process that uses zinc plates, often used in the 19th century for illustrations.