phrase

• An article that is interesting because of its antiquity, beauty, quality of workmanship, etc.

  ‘Here he assembled a large but indifferent collection of objects of virtu, prints, and curiosities, several of which were purchased in Italy by Mann, which attracted fashionable attention.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘These may be divided into three sometimes overlapping categories: relics, souvenirs, and objects of (sometimes easy) virtu.’
  • ‘The paintings hung in a small cabinet in which were also located a number of antiquities and objets de vertu, in a heterogeneous arrangement like that of a wonder collection.’
  • ‘Post's financial resources enabled her to purchase works of primarily French and Russian origin in a wide variety of categories including furniture, porcelain, glass, textiles, and objets de vertu.’
  • ‘Queen Charlotte was hardly mentioned, even though she was an avid collector of gems, natural history specimens and objets de vertu.’