As objects for daily use, the decorative arts allow a close insight into
cultures of the past. Among its holdings, the National Gallery has an
extensive collection of European furniture, tapestries, and ceramics
from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as well as medieval church
vessels and Renaissance jewelry. In addition, there is a fine selection
of eighteenth-century French furniture—including many pieces signed by
cabinetmakers to Louis XV and Louis XVI and, of historic interest, the
writing table used by Queen Marie Antoinette while she was imprisoned
three years during the French Revolution (gallery 55). The Gallery also
contains a large collection of Chinese porcelains, including porcelains
from the Ch’ing Dynasty of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Until the East Building is completed, only a few selected works can be
placed on exhibition in the galleries.