Decorative Arts and Design

Purview

Decorative Arts and Design focuses on functional objects, which include furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork, toys, lighting and appliances, wallpaper and textiles, jewelry, and beyond. Like many large institutions, the Brooklyn Museum is also home to architectural spaces—referred to as period rooms—that can present objects made for domestic use in context.

The Decorative Arts and Design collection includes contemporary designs from around the world and historical examples from Europe and the United States. Ancient and historical non-Western examples of decorative arts and design can be found in their respective collections: Arts of Africa, Arts of the Americas, Arts of the Islamic World, Arts of Asia, and Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern Art.

History

The Brooklyn Institute, a precursor to the Brooklyn Museum, began collecting examples of design in the early 20th century. European porcelain and tableware entered the collection as early as 1902. Furniture came soon after and, by 1915, the Museum had acquired American period rooms from historic houses. Our earliest acquisitions were historical, most dating to the 18th century and into the early 19th century. Representing life in the early years of the United States was of particular interest.

In the first decades of the 1900s, the Museum also began exhibiting contemporary design to provide inspiration and resources for working designers in the New York City area. Starting in 1948, the Museum’s Edward C. Blum Design Lab influenced fashion designers and manufacturers by making textiles and other works in the Museum’s collections available for research. A collection of costumes was transferred to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2009; it is now integrated into the Met’s Costume Institute.

Today, the Brooklyn Museum’s Decorative Arts and Design department continues to prioritize American design from the 19th century on, as well as contemporary works from around the globe.