Hot 2024 Sterling Silver Star and Snowflake Ornament Set Ornaments

An art ornament set inspired by The Met collection.These luxurious sterling-silver star and snowflake ornaments celebrate two spectacular shields in The Met’s Arms and Armor collection. Our 2024 star honors a spectacular German shield. Belonging to a small 16th-century garniture (a suit with modifiable elements) forged for the Elizabethan courtier Sir John Smythe (1534–1607), the original shield is stamped with a mark consisting of the letter “A” within a pearled circle on the interior. The exterior is wonderfully etched and gilded, with cartouches featuring allegorical figures of Fortune, Justice, and Fortitude.This year’s collectible snowflake adapts the magnificent detailing on an Indian shield, or dhál. 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 crosshatched steel base.To learn more about the history of The Met Store’s collectible art ornaments and shop other art-inspired designs, read our blog post here.