The primary strength of the Eugenia Woodward Hitt Collection, bequeathed to the Museum in 1991, is furniture of the Louis XIV, XV, and XVI periods, including seating furniture, case pieces such as commodes and writing desks, and clocks. The majority of the furniture is signed by well-known craftsmen working during the eighteenth century, such as Georges Jacob and Jacques Dubois. Reflecting the Régence period with an emphasis on sculptural decoration, the Rococo style with its lively curves and naturalistic motifs, and the pristine forms of the Neoclassical period, the collection provides a well-rounded overview of the changing tastes of France’s haute société.

In 1991, the Eugenia Woodward Hitt Collection of eighteenth-century French art – a major assembly of more than 500 works – came to the Museum. In addition to paintings and works on paper, the collection includes fine gilt bronzes and a select group of silver objects. French silver from the period is rare, as it was often melted down as currency to finance wars, but gilt bronze objects, with little melt value, have survived in great numbers. Adding to the opulence of an interior, gilt-bronze sconces, firedogs, and clocks reflected the changing styles of the period and the status of their owners.

The Museum’s collection of eighteenth and early-nineteenth century English silver numbers more than 300 pieces and includes works by masters Paul de Lamerie and Paul Storr, as well as by Hester Bateman, one of the few female silversmiths working in the eighteenth century, and her family. The wide variety and quality of the objects in the collection illustrate the depth and range of silver produced during the period and perfectly complement the BMA’s collection of English ceramics.

The Museum’s collection of nineteenth-century European cast iron is one of the three largest and most comprehensive of its kind and is the only such collection known in the United States. Formed by Gustav Lamprecht during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the collection is unique in that it is one of the few that has remained intact over a period of more than one hundred years. It is also one of the few to include such a large number of objects from a wide variety of foundries, both public and private, both German and Austrian. Comprised of delicate objects, such as watch stands, paperweights, small sculpture, and jewelry, it is appropriate that the collection has made its home in Birmingham, as it is primarily the iron industry that is responsible for the city’s existence and growth.

The European metalwork collection at the Birmingham Museum of Art includes objects of eighteenth-century English silver, French gilt bronze, and decorative cast iron from the nineteenth century.