Chief's War Shirt
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
This elaborately embellished warrior’s shirt is decorated on the shoulders and sleeves with traditional porcupine and maidenhair-fern quillwork. Blue-glass trade beads, called pony beads after the pony saddlebags in which traders carried them, are sewn in patterns on the front bib. The painted horizontal designs likely represent horse whips (representing a tally of war exploits) and blankets. The use of both traditional and new trade materials enhanced the wearer’s prestige.
Caption
Sioux; Probably Yanktonai, Nakota, Sioux. Chief's War Shirt, early 19th century. Buckskin, dye, pigment, glass beads, porcupine quills, maidenhair fern stems, sinew, 30 x 20 in. (76.2 x 50.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.11. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Cultures
Title
Chief's War Shirt
Date
early 19th century
Geography
Place collected: Fort Snelling, Minnesota, United States
Medium
Buckskin, dye, pigment, glass beads, porcupine quills, maidenhair fern stems, sinew
Classification
Dimensions
30 x 20 in. (76.2 x 50.8 cm)
Credit Line
Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund
Accession Number
50.67.11
Frequent Art Questions
Why did the curator put these objects together?
The views shared by many Americans around the centennial towards Native Americans people, contrasted with actual works made by Natives, are being highlighted here. Many people regarded natives as "Noble Savages" that were disappearing and wanted to capture and preserve that legacy.In actuality, Native American culture was alive and well. Some people continued to lived in traditional ways on tribal lands and others moved into cities and lived like "typical Americans."Thank you!You're welcome! You'll notice that many of the works in this room date to the 1870s. 1876 was the United States' Centennial celebration so it was a time of reflection -- what was America all about? How was national identity represented in visual art?
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