Applied Arts of Europe

The Art Institute’s department of Applied Arts of Europe holds an impressive collection of 9,000 objects, encompassing furniture, ceramics, metalwork, glass, and wallpaper, spanning from 1100 to 1945. The department’s strengths include arms and armor; Continental glass; ceramics from England, France, Germany, and Austria; and notable European furniture. The collection also features the renowned Thorne Miniature Rooms by Narcissa Niblack Thorne and the Arthur Rubloff Paperweight Collection. The collection is concentrated in the Deering Family Galleries (236–239), the Eloise W. Martin Galleries (231–234), and the Thorne Miniature Room Gallery (11), with additional works integrated throughout the European paintings galleries.