Decorative Arts
As objects for daily use, the decorative arts allow a close insight into cultures of the past. Among its holdings, the National Gallery has an extensive collection of European furniture, tapestries, and ceramics from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as well as medieval church vessels and Renaissance jewelry. In addition, there is a fine selection of eighteenth-century French furniture—including many pieces signed by cabinetmakers to Louis XV and Louis XVI and, of historic interest, the writing table used by Queen Marie Antoinette while she was imprisoned three years during the French Revolution (gallery 55). The Gallery also contains a large collection of Chinese porcelains, including porcelains from the Ch’ing Dynasty of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Until the East Building is completed, only a few selected works can be placed on exhibition in the galleries.