Bowl

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

An artist carved this large feast bowl to hold consecrated food for religious ceremonies in the early nineteenth century. The abstract human head emerging from the rim represents a manitou, a powerful supernatural being. As a sculptural form, the bowl is distinguished by a finely proportioned, elongated shape; gently curving wall; delicate rim; tightly patterned wood grain; and rich, glowing color.

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