decorative art

American  

noun

1. art that is meant to be useful as well as beautiful, as ceramics, furniture, jewelry, and textiles.

2. Usually decorative arts. any of the arts, as ceramics or jewelry making, whose works are created to be useful.

3. works of decorative art collectively.

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Etymology

Origin of decorative art

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

Prints, paintings and works of decorative art document the philosophies, pivotal events and major figures of the time, from the Boston Massacre and Paul Revere to indigenous conflicts and George Washington.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 18, 2026

While borrowing freely from the French decorative art vocabulary popularized by the Exposition, Seattle architects also incorporated distinct Pacific Northwest images.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2023

‘Kumihimo: The Art of Japanese Silk Braiding by Domyo’ The history of this decorative art, which dates to the sixth century, is traced in this exhibit on view through March 6.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2021

Gold is not a material of mere decorative art.

From New York Times • Dec. 22, 2016

The reasons for this, as well as for other peculiarities of the decorative art of the mound-builders as embodied in pottery, must be sought for in the antecedent and coëxistent arts of these tribes.

From Ancient Pottery of the Mississippi Valley Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1882-83, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1886, pages 361-436 by Holmes, William Henry