Museum category

Decorative Arts Museums

Decorative arts museums with furniture, ceramics, glass, silver, interiors, craft, applied arts, and material culture.

24 museum profiles

Museum Profiles

Alhambra Museum Granada, Spain Bavarian National Museum Munich, Germany Ca’ Rezzonico Venice, Italy Gardiner Museum Toronto, Canada Horta Museum Brussels, Belgium Louvre Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates McCord Stewart Museum Montreal, Canada Moscow Kremlin Museums Moscow, Russia Musée Carnavalet Paris, France Musée Nissim de Camondo Paris, France Museo del Romanticismo Madrid, Spain Museo Franz Mayer Mexico City, Mexico Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas Madrid, Spain Museu de Lisboa Lisbon, Portugal Museu Imperial Petrópolis, Brazil Museum of Applied Arts Vienna Vienna, Austria Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague Prague, Czech Republic Museum Rietberg Zurich, Switzerland National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History Dublin, Ireland Richard H. Driehaus Museum Chicago, United States Royal Museums Turin Turin, Italy Stibbert Museum Florence, Italy Swiss National Museum Zurich, Switzerland Thorsvang – Danmarks Samlermuseum Stege, Denmark

Museum Reviews

Alhambra Museum Review Granada, Spain Bavarian National Museum Review Munich, Germany Ca’ Rezzonico Review Venice, Italy Gardiner Museum Review Toronto, Canada Horta Museum Review Brussels, Belgium Louvre Abu Dhabi Review Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates McCord Stewart Museum Review Montreal, Canada Moscow Kremlin Museums Review Moscow, Russia Musée Carnavalet Review Paris, France Musée Nissim de Camondo Review Paris, France Museo del Romanticismo Review Madrid, Spain Museo Franz Mayer Review Mexico City, Mexico Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas Review Madrid, Spain Museu de Lisboa Review Lisbon, Portugal Museu Imperial Review Petrópolis, Brazil Museum of Applied Arts Vienna Review Vienna, Austria Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague Review Prague, Czech Republic Museum Rietberg Review Zurich, Switzerland National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History Review Dublin, Ireland Richard H. Driehaus Museum Review Chicago, United States Royal Museums Turin Review Turin, Italy Stibbert Museum Review Florence, Italy Swiss National Museum Review Zurich, Switzerland Thorsvang – Danmarks Samlermuseum Review Stege, Denmark

Editorial category guide

Decorative arts museums for interiors, craft, and material culture

Decorative arts museums often reveal how people lived with objects: furniture, ceramics, glass, silver, textiles, interiors, craft, and applied design. Their value comes from showing taste, skill, trade, domestic life, and the social meaning of useful things.

This guide focuses on museums where objects are explained through makers, materials, rooms, techniques, patrons, and everyday culture, helping readers see decorative arts as more than attractive surfaces.