Sidefold Dress
1 of 2
Object Label
One of the earliest Northern Plains styles was the side-fold dress, constructed of tanned hide wrapped around the wearer and sewn closed on one side. Six pieces of hide were cut and joined together to construct this garment. The blue, brown, and white quilled decoration of parallel horizontal stripes is framed by tufts of red yarn. The tinned iron and copper cones sewn along the bottom were valued trade goods, and therefore prestige ornamentation for a Yankton woman in the nineteenth century.
Caption
Yankton, Nakota, Sioux. Sidefold Dress, early 19th century. Buffalo hide(?), dyed bird and porcupine quills, copper, tinned iron and copper cones, glass pony beads, yarn, pigment, sinew, 50 x 16 in. (127 x 40.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.6. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 50.67.6_SL1.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Sidefold Dress
Date
early 19th century
Geography
Place collected: Fort Snelling, Minnesota, United States
Medium
Buffalo hide(?), dyed bird and porcupine quills, copper, tinned iron and copper cones, glass pony beads, yarn, pigment, sinew
Classification
Dimensions
50 x 16 in. (127 x 40.6 cm)
Credit Line
Henry L. Batterman Fund and Frank Sherman Benson Fund
Accession Number
50.67.6
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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