Ewer Crowned with a Putto, Paris, about 1350. Rock crystal, with gilded silver mounts (Nuremberg, Germany, about 1540), 24.13 x 10.16 x 11.27 cm. Bequest of Charles Phelps Taft and Anna Sinton Taft, 1931.223 © Taft Museum 

Rock crystal—a type of colorless quartz—has long been valued for its purity and its beautiful simplicity. To create this ewer, a medieval stonecutter carved a single block of rock crystal into this vessel, a task that required great skill. Nearly two hundred years later, a Renaissance goldsmith from Germany added the metal mounts, heightening the allure of this fragile precious mineral. The wide horizontal band at the top shows birds and grapevines, while the domed foot depicts winged putti.