New The Met Store 2024 Snowflake Ornament

Art ornaments inspired by The Met collection.

Each year, we present a new snowflake ornament inspired by a treasure in the Museum’s holdings. This year’s collectible snowflake adapts the magnificent detailing on an Indian shield, or dhál, in the Museum’s esteemed holdings of arms and armor. Forged in the 19th century, the shield boasts an extraordinary example of the koftgari technique, also known as “false” or “counterfeit” damascening—a term alluding to the Syrian capital of Damascus and the apparent Eastern origins of this technique. While “true” damascening is a complex inlaying process requiring careful undercutting and hammering, the Museum’s shield boasts impressive decoration achieved with greater ease: eye-catching designs in gold and silver foil or wire cover a…See More