"When the ancient sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii were excavated in the eighteenth century, the objects found there renewed artistic interest in classicism. Neoclassical style and imagery permeated paintings, sculpture, furniture, and decorative arts of the period, and a central element of design in all these art forms was the vase." "This book focuses on the vase as an artistic and ornamental form in a variety of media. It presents and discusses almost one hundred hidden treasures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection - not only vases but also wine and water urns, knife boxes, ink wells, perfume burners, fabrics, carved paneling, marquetry furniture, silver, works on paper, and paintings - all using the vase motif. Vase imagery ranged from austere to fantastic to romantic, say the authors of this book, and the vase became a new paradigm of beauty as well as an icon of European neoclassicism."--BOOK JACKET.