Definition of "conversation piece" []

• An unusual object that arouses comment or interest. (noun)
• A genre painting, popular especially in the 18th century, depicting a group of fashionable people. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The formal conversation piece had turned into a Gluyas Williams picture."
• "Rose led the way through the French window into the drawing-room, where Alleyn found an out-of-drawing conversation piece established."