War shirt

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This richly embellished garment, which embodies layers of spiritual and military meaning, would have been worn by a man of great stature on ceremonial occasions. The red ocher paint on the upper half represents an aspect of holy power. The rolled fringes made from ermine pelts hanging from the arms and chest, together with the human hair on the flaps at the neck, signify bravery and victory over the enemy.

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