2025 Star and Snowflake Ornament Set

Art ornaments inspired by The Met collection.

This set of collectible ornaments celebrates two spectacular treasures in The Met's American Wing.

The 2025 Star Ornament is informed by a grand staircase (1893) originally designed for the Chicago Stock Exchange building. The vision of Louis Henry Sullivan (American, 1856–1924) and Dankmar Adler (American, 1844–1900)—leading figures of the Chicago School style of architecture, from which the towering building type known as the skyscraper emerged—the staircase boasts extraordinary ironwork in the way of geometric and naturalistic forms exemplary of Sullivan's mature aesthetic. He likewise echoed similar motifs throughout the rest of the building. The staircase was removed from the Stock Exchange when it was demolished in 1972, and is now installed in The Met's Charles Engelhard Court. 

This year's snowflake is inspired by the detailing on a fabulous library table (1879–82). Crafted by the design duo known as Herter Brothers (German, active New York, 1864–1906), arguably the leading American cabinetmaking and decorating firm of the late 19th century, the Museum's table exemplifies Gilded Age decadence. Tasked with designing and decorating William Henry Vanderbilt's new Fifth Avenue mansion, the brothers gave this table pride of place as the centerpiece of the library, though it served as more of a sculpture and monument to its patron, who was then considered the richest man in America. The stellar motif scattered across the tabletop mimics the placement of the stars over the northern hemisphere on May 8, 1821, the day Vanderbilt was born.