Banister-back chair

Banister-back chair

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

American-made banister-back chairs with rush seats were economical counterparts to the imported English cane chairs popular in the colonies from the 1690s to the 1720s. Although the origins of this chair are uncertain, it is set apart by the unusual design of its crest rail, which is reminiscent of ornamental engravings in silver, linking it to a group of chairs from the Portsmouth area.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.