Collections: Arts of the Americas: Chief's War Shirt

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Chief's War Shirt

• Cultures: Red River Metis, Native American; or Yanktonai Sioux, Native American
• Medium: Buckskin, porcupine quills, garnet beads, pony beads, seed beads, thread
• Place Made: Fort Snelling, Minnesota, USA
• Dates: 19th century
• Dimensions: 39 in. (99.1 cm)
• Collections: Arts of the Americas
• Museum Location: This item is not on view
• Accession Number: 50.67.4
• Credit Line: Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund
• Image: Overall, 50.67.4.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Red River Metis (Native American). Chief's War Shirt, 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, garnet beads, pony beads, seed beads, thread, 39 in. (99.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.4 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 50.67.4.jpg)
• Catalogue Description: This elaborate shirt is decorated with beads and quillwork executed in several techniques. The bib has a heart and two flower sprays in red, green, and blue porcupine quills. The top edge is decorated with blue pony beads in a two-bead edging technique: red garnet beads were applied along the sides with the same technique. An inner broken line border of small red and black seed beads are also sewn on the bib. Two"rays" or "spokes". The inner ring, now grey, is surrounded by a ring of light blue which is then encircled by a red ring. The radiant rays are filled with areas quilled in pale yellow, light blue, and orange. Each entire rosette is encircled at the seam by large blue pony beads. The shoulder seam "coverings" were finely woven on a loom, but are now very deteriorated. A geometric pattern of red and blue "Xs", interspersed with red and blue diamonds are edged with small squares in red, black, and blue. The shoulder strips are checkered, quilled with three lines of colored squares in orange, blue, purple, black, yellow and white and finished along the sides with a zigzag pattern. The seam ornaments and shoulder strips are both edged with a single line of the blue pony beads. Tabs along each side and along the sleeves have pierced decoration. The "cuffs" are ornamented with two lines of blue pony beads. First, a single line and then a double line closer to the opening.The side seams and sleeves have long fringes, but very tiny fringes at the wrist, with every other one wrapped with orange quills. The comparitively simple decoration and unwrapped fringe are possibly due to the fact the shirt produced exclusively for sale and so rated less decoaration. See Jarvis report in Arts of Americas' files.