Military accessory

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Military officers began wearing hat plates of this type at the beginning of the 19th century. The lions depicted on the plate are highly refined; differentiating male and female creatures is integral to iconography and symbolism. This particular emblem is from the collection of Archduke Leopold of Austria.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art