Sash

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image of a single human figure and the asymmetric pattern of repeated geometric motifs on this beaded sash are unique. While likely religious, their exact meaning is unknown. The artist used a hand-weaving tool called a heddle to make the band. The glass beads came from trade and the yarn either from trade or an unraveled blanket. The subtle, underlying color of the red wool yarn warps enhances the wefts of bold beadwork.

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