Museum Store Sunday St. Nicolas Ornament Collection
All of our bespoke ornaments from St. Nicolas will be on sale Sunday, November 26th! Shop our ornaments 3 for $39!
Support the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum this holiday season by making Gift at the Gardner your gift-buying destination. For Museum Store Sunday, enjoy a one-day sale on our line of bespoke felt ornaments featuring prominent figures from art, literature, and history, including Isabella Stewart Gardner and her circle of friends!
St. Nicolas specializes in bespoke handmade hanging decorations. For over 25 years, they worked with a small charity in Thailand that helps disadvantaged rural women find work in their community, rather than having to leave home. Today, some 200 skilled women work at home hand sewing the decorations and many have been doing so for more than ten years!
As their business grew, more innovative designs were needed, so they began working with a partner in India. The Indian-made ornaments use the traditional method of zardozi embroidery, an intricate sewing technique that was developed to embellish courtly robes with gold wires and jewels. Zardozi work is rare, but because of the skill that is needed to create the ornaments, it continues to be handed down from generation to generation.
Isabella's Purple Shoes Ornament
$16.95
Maison Chapelle Cordonnier, (established Paris, 1815), Pair of Purple Satin Slippersabout 1900, late 19th century - early 20th century. Satin, silk, and leather, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.
Made in Paris in the late nineteenth century, this pair of fashionable satin slippers with graduated straps dotted by bows, were a gift from Isabella Stewart Gardner to her goddaughter, Katharine Foote, daughter of famous Boston composer, Arthur Foote. Foote donated them to the Perkins School for the Blind for use in the drama department’s costume collection, where they could be worn by children in school plays. Imbued with happy memories of school performances, by 1954 the shoes were no longer used, and they were donated to the museum as a relic of Isabella’s taste in fashion.
This ornament pays homage to Isabella's unique sense of style!
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum are also available. Click here to explore our Ornament Collection!
Measures 2.5" x 4"
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Isabella Stewart Gardner Ornament
$16.95
This ornament of Isabella Stewart Gardner is directly inspired by her portrait painted by John Singer Sargent and displayed in the Gothic Room.
Mrs. Gardner sat for Sargent during his visit to Boston in January 1888. He was paid $3000 for the portrait, which was exhibited to great acclaim at Boston’s St. Botolph Club. The work also inspired gossip and legend: someone jokingly titled it “Woman: An Enigma,” while others believed that the sensuous display of flesh deliberately echoed the scandal recently created by Sargent’s Madame X. Mrs. Gardner herself said that she rejected eight renderings of the face until she was satisfied.
Jack Gardner seems to have asked his wife not to publicly show the portrait again while he was alive, and indeed the portrait was placed in the Gothic Room, which remained private until Mrs. Gardner’s death. In its gallery, surrounded by altarpieces, stained glass, and religious statuary, the sacramental quality noted by nineteenth-century reviewers is even more pronounced.
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum are also available. Click here to explore our Ornament Collection!
Measures 1.5" x 5.5"
Isabella Stewart Gardner in Venice Ornament
$16.95
This ornament is based on Isabella Stewart Gardner's likeness in Anders Zorn's 1984 portrait of her at the Palazzo Barbaro in Venice, where she often stayed and entertained an international set of cultural celebrities. This depiction perfectly captures Gardner’s vibrant personality as she comes in from a balcony to encourage dinner party guests to join her for the display of fireworks over the Grand Canal.Seeing this painting on display in Gardner’s museum in 1906, Anne O’Hagan Shinn, a suffragette and an early commentator on the collection, described the painting as a “flamelike incarnation of vigor and life—impression helped, doubtless, by the wonderful yellow gown which swathes the strong and supple figure that seems to leap from the canvas.”
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-exclusive ornaments with Zorn's vision of the Museum's founder!
El Jaleo Ornament
$16.95
During his travels in Spain in 1879, John Singer Sargent was mulling over a major work of art in which he could express his love of Gypsy music, dance, and picturesque costumes. On his return to Paris he set to work on a wide horizontal picture whose proportions simulated the shallow stage space of popular musical establishments. He named the painting El Jaleo to suggest the name of a dance, the jaleo de jerez, while counting on the broader meaning jaleo, which means ruckus or hubbub.The painting was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1882 with the more explicit title El Jaleo: Danse des gitanes (Dance of the Gypsies). The painting was purchased by American businessman and diplomat T. Jefferson Coolidge in 1882, and was given to Mrs. Gardner as a gift in 1914. Then, as now, El Jaleo resides in the Spanish Cloister of the Gardner Museum, just off the famous Courtyard.
This ornament captures the central figure of Sargent's work, the semi-veiled flamenco dancer, in fluid motion with her skirt in one hand while the other flourishes with the music. Have Sargent's El Jaleo dancer gracefully twirl her way onto your Christmas tree this holiday season!
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum are also available. Click here to explore our Ornament Collection!
Measures 2.5" x 4"
John Singer Sargent Ornament
$16.95
This ornament of Gardner's friend and 19th-century artist John Singer Sargent comes from a print by John Templeman Coolidge of Sargent painting in the Museum's Gothic Room.John Singer Sargent was the first artist-in-residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. During the month of April 1903 he slept in a guest room (now called the Macknight Room) and created new works of art in his temporary studio, the Gothic Room.
John Templeman Coolidge, an artist and friend of Isabella’s, took several photographs of Sargent painting the portrait of Gretchen Osgood Warren and her daughter Rachel in the Gothic Room. These candid pictures show Sargent in a whirl of activity with brush and palette in hand—and a cigarette in his mouth.
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum are also available. Click here to explore our Ornament Collection!
Measures 1.5" x 5.5"
Nasturtium Window Ornament
$16.95
Inspired by the Gardner Museum's annual Nasturtium Display, this ornament features the blooms gently adorning the Venetian palazzo windows of Mrs. Gardner's Fenway Palace.Isabella Stewart Gardner began the annual tradition of hanging colorful displays of nasturtium vines that cascaded from the Courtyard balconies at Fenway. The vines continue to come alive during the week before Easter as the Gardner Museum celebrates the arrival of spring.
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-exclusive ornaments with the Nasturtium Window Ornament!
Nasturtium photography by Sean Dungan
Young Rembrandt Ornament
$16.95
This ornament of a young Rembrandt is based on his self-portrait that hangs in the Dutch room. Purchased by Isabella in 1896, this painting is said by our first director, Morris Carter, to be the first that she acquired with “the intention of developing a real museum collection.”Much like the portrait from which the ornament originates, this figure of a twenty-three-year-old Rembrandt is all about the costume: the plumed cap, silk scarf, and gold necklace will stand out on your Christmas tree!
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-exclusive ornaments with Young Rembrandt!
Women Empowerment Roundel Ornament
$16.95
"Well-behaved women rarely make history."
This phrase has been attributed to several famous women; we think Isabella Stewart Gardner would agree with the sentiment!
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available.
Blue Suffragist Ornament
$16.95
Isabella Stewart Gardner was an ardent supporter of women’s educational and social advancement during her lifetime. Throughout her life, she kept in close company with many female trailblazers, including Julia Ward Howe.
This ornament of an American Suffragist wearing a 'Votes for Women' banner is a perfect addition to your Christmas tree this holiday season.
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available.
Red Suffragist Ornament
$16.95
Isabella Stewart Gardner was an ardent supporter of women’s educational and social advancement during her lifetime. Throughout her life, she kept in close company with many female trailblazers, including Julia Ward Howe.This ornament of an American Suffragist wearing a 'Votes for Women' banner is a perfect addition to your Christmas tree this holiday season.
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available.
Frida Kahlo Ornament
$16.95
Frida Kahlo de Rivera was a Mexican artist who painted many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico.
This ornament of Frida Kahlo shows the painter with palette and brush in hand, wearing a beautifully colored dress.
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available.
RBG Ornament
$16.95
This hand-sewn ornament celebrates the iconic Associate Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This advocate for gender equality and women's rights would have surely been of a favorite of trailblazing Isabella Stewart Gardner.
Are your family holidays getting interesting? Dissent like RBG!
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available.
Madame Butterfly Ornament
$16.95
Ornaments of other subjects and musicians featured in the Gardner Museum are also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with Madam Butterfly!
Medusa Face Ornament
$16.95
Evocative of the gorgon that lies at the very heart of the Museum, this ornament of Medusa with her serpentine locks is said to have the power to ward off evil (and will surely not turn you into stone).
St. Nicolas specializes in bespoke handmade hanging decorations. For over 25 years, they worked with a small charity in Thailand that helps disadvantaged rural women find work in their community, rather than having to leave home. Today, some 200 skilled women work at home hand sewing the decorations and many have been doing so for more than ten years!
As their business grew, more innovative designs were needed, so they began working with a partner in India. The Indian-made ornaments use the traditional method of zardozi embroidery, an intricate sewing technique that was developed to embellish courtly robes with gold wires and jewels. Zardozi work is rare, but because of the skill that is needed to create the ornaments, it continues to be handed down from generation to generation.
Caravaggio Ornament
$16.95
Many artists represented within Mrs. Gardner's collection were influenced by the works of the Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.This hand-embroidered ornament of the famous Caravaggio shows him with a palate in one hand, and a sword in the other, representative of his tumultuous life.
Ornaments of other subjects and artists featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with Caravaggio!
Michelangelo Ornament
$16.95
The Italian High Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect and poet Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni—known more commonly by his first name, Michelangelo—was both known as a great master of his time, along with Raphael and Leonardo di Vinci. Some of his most prominent sketches are a part of the Gardner Museum Collection.
Out of the Gardner Museum and into your home, this ornament is sure to make your Christmas tree a masterpiece!
This ornament of the Master, his tools, and his sculpture is sure to remind you of the artist's work which you may have enjoyed in Mrs. Gardner's collection.
Ornaments of other artists featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of artists with our handsome Michelangelo!
Raphael Ornament
$16.95
The Italian High Renaissance painter and architect Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino—known simply as Raphael—was both known as a great master of his time, along with Michelangelo and Leonardo di Vinci. Out of the Gardner Museum and into your home, this ornament is sure to make your Christmas tree a masterpiece!This ornament of the Master and his paints is sure to remind you of the artist's work which you may have enjoyed in Mrs. Gardner's collection.
Ornaments of other artists featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of artists with our handsome Raphael!
Titian Ornament
$16.95
Our ornament of the great European Renaissance painter Titziano Vecelli da Cadore (1490-1576), or simply Titian, is a must for art lovers and makes for a perfect Gardner souvenir.In 1896, Isabella Stewart Gardner acquired Titian’s Rape of Europa, and it became the most important Renaissance painting in the United States. After Isabella finished the construction of her museum in 1901, she made Europa the Titian Room’s focal point, curating an installation worthy of its illustrious heritage and iconic status.
Ornaments of other artists featured in the Gardner Museum are also available. Complete your collection of artists with our ornament of Titian!
Vincent van Gogh Ornament
$16.95
Iconic sunflower in hand, this ornament of Vincent van Gogh is dually inspired by his famous self portraits and his Sunflowers series.Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available.
Ernest Hemingway Ornament
$16.95
This ornament features American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist Ernest Hemmingway with his pipes and a copy of his famous short story The Old Man and the Sea, written in 1951.Ornaments of other prominent literary figures are also available. Complete your collection of history-inspired ornaments with Ernest Hemingway!
Frederick Douglass Ornament
$16.95
American social reformer, abolitionist, public speaker, writer, and statesman Frederick Douglass was born into slavery, escaping in 1838. After gaining his freedom, he became the national leader of the abolitionist movement.This ornament of Frederick Douglass shows the man himself, holding his 1835 autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. He stands stoically, dressed in period-appropriate attire.
Ornaments of other subjects and historical figures associated with the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with Frederick Douglass!
Henry Longfellow Ornament
$16.95
"Listen, my children, and you shall hearof the midnight ride of Paul Revere.."
In the Museum's collection is a handwritten copy of "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This ornament is perfect for American History enthusiasts and New England natives.
St. Nicolas specializes in bespoke handmade hanging decorations. For over 25 years, they worked with a small charity in Thailand that helps disadvantaged rural women find work in their community, rather than having to leave home. Today, some 200 skilled women work at home hand sewing the decorations and many have been doing so for more than ten years!
As their business grew, more innovative designs were needed, so they began working with a partner in India. The Indian-made ornaments use the traditional method of zardozi embroidery, an intricate sewing technique that was developed to embellish courtly robes with gold wires and jewels. Zardozi work is rare, but because of the skill that is needed to create the ornaments, it continues to be handed down from generation to generation.
Nathaniel Hawthorne Ornament
$16.95
From her collection, we can tell the Isabella Stewart Gardner was quite the Hawthorne fan! Not only does the Museum contain several of Hawthorne's books, as well as letters penned by Hawthorne, the Museum's Blue Room also contains a brass box containing a lock of Nathaniel Hawthorne's hair!
This ornament of American novelist, dark romantic and short story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne features the author dressed in his finery, holding a copy of The Scarlet Letter, written in 1850.
Ornaments of other historical subjects featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with Nathaniel Hawthorne!
Shakespeare Ornament
$16.95
Though he be but little, he is fierce! This ornament of the Bard himself—the ideal gift for the Shakespeare lover—perfectly captures England's greatest poet and playwright with a play in his hand, looking dashing in his doublet of black and gold.Ornaments of other characters from Shakespeare's plays also available.
Ornaments of other subjects and authors featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with William Shakespeare!
Giuseppe Verdi Ornament
$16.95
Mrs. Gardner espoused a deep love for music and performance. The Museum keeps this passion for music alive in the present with concerts and music-themed events.To that end, we present this ornament of the Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi, complete with his era-specific hat and coattails. In his hand, he clutches a musical score.
Ornaments of other subjects and musicians featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with Verdi!
Handel Ornament
$16.95
Mrs. Gardner espoused a deep love for music and performance. The Museum keeps this passion for music alive in the present with concerts and music-themed events.To that end, we present this ornament of the German/British composer George Frideric Handel, complete with his era-specific powdered wig. In his gloved hand, he clutches a musical score.
Ornaments of other subjects and musicians featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with Handel!
Mozart Ornament
$16.95
Mrs. Gardner espoused a deep love for music and performance. The Museum keeps this passion for music alive in the present with concerts and music-themed events.
To that end, we present this ornament of the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, complete with his era-specific powdered wig and ruffled shirt. In his gloved hand, he clutches a musical score.
Ornaments of other subjects and musicians featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with Mozart!
Cello Ornament
$16.95
Complete with silver strings our fantastic Cello decoration will delight music lover!Ornaments of other subjects and artists featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with the Cello Ornament!
Piano Ornament
$16.95
Mrs. Gardner espoused a deep love for music and performance. The Museum keeps this passion for music alive in the present with concerts and music-themed events.Ornaments of other subjects and musicians featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with a Piano!
Violin Ornament
$16.95
Mrs. Gardner espoused a deep love for music and performance. The Museum keeps this passion for music alive in the present with concerts and music-themed events.Ornaments of other subjects and musicians featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with a Violin!
Ballerina in Blue Tutu Ornament
$16.95
As evidenced by the dancing figures in Mrs. Gardner's collection (seen in works by Edgar Degas, Louis Kronberg, and John Singer Sargent to name but a few), Mrs. Gardner was very taken with dancing of all kinds.
Beautiful in blue en pointe, this ornament is sure to remind you of some of the dancers you may have enjoyed in the Palace!
Ornaments of other subjects and dancers featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with this ballerina!
Ballerina in Gold Tutu Ornament
$16.95
As evidenced by the dancing figures in Mrs. Gardner's collection (seen in works by Edgar Degas, Louis Kronberg, and John Singer Sargent to name but a few), Mrs. Gardner was very taken with dancing of all kinds.Beautiful in gold en pointe, this ornament is sure to remind you of some of the dancers you may have enjoyed in the Palace!
Ornaments of other subjects and dancers featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with this ballerina!
Botticelli's Venus Ornament
$16.95
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is home to three of Sandro Botticelli's finest works: The Tragedy of Lucretia, The Nativity, and Virgin and Child with an Angel.This ornament features the figure of the goddess Venus arriving at the shore after her birth when she had emerged from the sea fully grown. She is instantly recognizable from Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, currently on display in the Uffizi Gallery in Italy.
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available!
Elizabeth Bennet Ornament
$16.95
Elizabeth Bennet—also known to friends and family as Eliza or Lizzy—is the protagonist of the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. In this beautiful handmade ornament, she wears a bonnet and a hand-embroidered dress.Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available.
Golden Princess Ornament
$16.95
Pretty in pink, our lovely Princess awaits Prince Charming. Match her with the Knight in Armor or our Pink Princess Ornament for a Christmas tree fit for royalty!Ornaments of other subjects and artists associated with the Gardner Museum also available.
Juliet Ornament
$16.95
For the eternally and hopelessly romantic, here is your Juliet! Romeo ornaments are also available; reunite the star-crossed lovers on your Christmas tree.Other ornaments of Shakespeare and the Bard's other characters also available.
Ornaments of other subjects featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with Juliet!
Papagena Ornament
$16.95
This beautiful, handmade holiday ornament features the much loved, mischievous character Papagena from Mozart's The Magic Flute,Ornaments of other subjects and artists featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with Papagena!
Papageno Ornament
$16.95
Ornaments of other subjects and artists featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with Papageno!
Pink Princess Ornament
$16.95
Pretty in pink, our lovely Princess awaits Prince Charming. Match her with the Knight in Armor or our Gold Princess Ornament for a Christmas tree fit for royalty!Ornaments of other subjects and artists associated with the Gardner Museum also available.
Queen of the Night Ornament
$16.95
This charming felt ornament is handmade in the likeness of the infamous, Queen of the Night. Complete your Opera-inspired decorations with The Magic Flute's intriguing villain: although evil in intentions, Mozart gives the Queen of the Night one of the most beautiful and challenging arias ever written.Ornaments of other subjects and artists featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with the Queen of the Night!
Romeo Ornament
$16.95
For the eternally and hopelessly romantic, here is your Romeo! Juliet ornaments are also available; reunite the star-crossed lovers on your Christmas tree.
Other ornaments of Shakespeare and the Bard's other characters also available.
Ornaments of other subjects featured in the Gardner Museum also available. Complete your collection of Gardner Museum-inspired ornaments with Romeo!
Navy Brocade Cross Ornament
$16.95
Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection contains all sorts of religious symbols, from crosses to angels, to stained glass windows.During the Gardners’ 1895 trip to Rome, they stayed several months so that Isabella could secure an audience with Pope Leo XIII. His Holiness asked Isabella many questions about the United States, as well as about her Anglican faith and her art collection. When she told him about the Sistine Chapel manuscript, he asked to see it, saying, “The next time you come to Rome, bring the missal with you and show it to me yourself.”
This Navy Brocade Cross Ornament reminds us of the beautiful textiles and other objets d'arte found all over the Museum.
Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available.
Angel Gabriel Ornament
$16.95
For 25 years St. Nicolas has worked with a small Christian charity in Thailand that helps disadvantaged rural women find work in their community, rather than being forced to leave home to work in a factory. Today, some 200 skilled women work at home sewing our decorations, and many of them have been doing so for more than 10 years. All the historical figure decorations are made in this way as well as numerous other designs. The Indian Christmas decorations are made using the traditional method of zardozi embroidery. Zari (meaning gold) embroidery originated in Persia and reached India in the 12th century. It is a highly skilled embroidery technique that traditionally used gold wires and jewels to embellish courtly robes. Zardozi work is a rare and respected craft, the skills of which are handed down from generation to generation.
Fanfare Angel Ornament
$16.95
Mrs. Gardner espoused a deep love for music and performance. The Museum keeps this passion for music alive in the present with concerts and music-themed events.Ornaments of other subjects, artists, authors, and notable figures inspired by Isabella and the Museum also available.
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