Shoulder bag

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vibrant nineteenth-century shoulder bags, worn by Woodlands men for formal dress, may have been inspired by the eighteenth-century ammunition pouches of British soldiers. The free-flowing imagery of this Seminole example as well as its asymmetrical strap—when worn, one design appears on the front and another on the back—is typical of the period.

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