2023 Sterling Silver Star and Snowflake Ornament Set

An art ornament set inspired by The Met collection.

These collectible sterling silver star and snowflake ornaments celebrate two exquisite instruments in The Met collection. Elevated with 18K-gold overlay, our 2023 star adapts the exquisite rosette from a spruce, ebony, ivory, tortoiseshell, and mother-of-pearl archlute (ca. 1725), a type of long-necked lute derived from the Florentine chitarrone ("large kithara") invented around 1585. The Museum's archlute, one of only 10 known examples of its kind, was crafted by David Tecchler (Austrian, 1666–1747), who became the most prominent Roman luthier of the early 18th century. Tecchler was celebrated for his violins and cellos, and this magnificent instrument appears to be his only extant archlute.

This year's snowflake ornament reinterprets the lavish rosette from a rosewood, spruce, walnut, bone, and mother-of-pearl mandola (1797). The rare, larger mandola bassa Milanese has seven double courses of strings that are tuned an octave lower than a Milanese mandolin. This particular mandola was crafted in Milan by Giuseppe Presbler (German, active Italy, 1760–1801), who belonged to a family of lute and mandolin makers originally from Germany.