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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

decorative art

Novack’s tip if you can’t find someone who wants your piano: Hire an artist to take it apart and turn it into something new, either furniture or decorative art.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

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

“People have gotten more and more creative, and we have a lot more elaborate costumes and decorative art that people have built.”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 17, 2022

The Shenandoah Valley Scrollers carve out wood and other materials with a scroll saw to create everything from spoons, boxes and trivets, to beautiful and intricate decorative art pieces.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 4, 2017

And when he got to Sydney he showed his taste in the decorative art by choosing “fixings” of an altogether Oriental and semi-aesthetic design.

From From Squire to Squatter A Tale of the Old Land and the New by Gordon Stables

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