showpiece
/ˈʃəʊpiːs
/noun
1Something which attracts attention or admiration as an outstanding example of its type: the factory has expanded and become a showpiece of British industry...
- The two new prison blocks were opened this year and were intended to be a showpiece of how prisons should be.
- Renowned for attracting top acts to the showpiece event, this year they have excelled themselves by signing up current chart-toppers Hear'say.
- The meeting has quickly become a speedway showpiece that also attracts big viewing figures for live coverage on TV.
1.1Something which offers a particular opportunity for a display of skill: the serenade was a showpiece for the wind section...
- Whether the early Strauss songs form ideal showpiece material for her voice is debatable.
- The Flute Concerto is a showpiece for both soloist and orchestra, elegant and atmospheric; it is full of subtle beauties that fall like gentle leaves on the ear.
- This year they turned to Bellini, staging Norma, generally regarded as one of the composer's finest bel canto masterpieces, and not so long ago a showpiece for Maria Callas.
2An item of work presented for exhibition or display.He was just as good with informal portraits as with grand showpieces....
- Instead of being used for serving food, it seems far more likely that it formed a showpiece, displayed prominently at its owner's banquets.
- Early Victorian taste favoured opulence and eclecticism, so exhibition showpieces coexisted with simpler, compact items like Windsor chairs.