The scent dispensers in the shape of chickens, dogs, and even William Shakespeare, were the most extravagant type of luxury items that members of a European court would have owned.

>> “Eva Zeisel: The Playful Search for Beauty” opens at Hillwood Museum today. Curated by Karen Kettering, Hillwood’s curator of Russian art, the exhibit is the first survey of the renowned designer’s work in 20 years. Some of you may recognize her designs from an earthenware line available at Crate and Barrel. Zeisel sums up her career and her many designs as the product of a “playful search for beauty.” Her “Prototypes for Modular…

Before heading out of town or burrowing at home with a glass of eggnog and cookies, be sure to check out some new and closing exhibits this week — or to visit some of the decorated historic house museums in D.C. >> “Tradition in Transition: Russian Icons in the Age of the Romanovs” will be closing Dec. 31 at Hillwood Museum & Gardens, the former home of Marjorie Merriweather Post that sits on the edge…