Side Chair

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In rural areas, painted decoration was frequently used to simulate expensive materials or to add visual interest. This side chair, which retains its original crewelwork seat cover, has a maple frame painted in imitation of imported mahogany.

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