Headdress frontlet

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

During certain ceremonies, Tsimshian leaders wear symbols that validate their authority, such as dance blankets woven from cedar bark fibers and mountain sheep wool or rattles carved in the shape of a raven. Among the most important elements of chiefly attire is the headdress. This avian example of a headdress centerpiece, or frontlet, was once adorned with goose down, a train of ermine skins, and a crown of spiky sea mammal whiskers. Its central image depicts a mythological bird-human. The strong beak, projecting wings, and realistic talons showcase the artist’s skill and recall similar three-dimensional imagery on monumental carvings.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art