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NATIVE AMERICAN RAWHIDE SHIELD W/ COVER 1880 –
1910: This
Native American shield
from the 1880’s to the early 1900’s, is a very
interesting piece, as the shield proper – that is the
main body of the shield – appears to be much older than
the cover, possibly from the late Indian War period.
Consisting of
a heavy rawhide shield, a leather cover and carrying
strap, this piece is complete with all of the components
one expects to see. The information relayed to me when
I purchased the shield suggested it had been associated
with one of the Wild West Shows popular around the turn
of the 19th to 20th Centuries, and
some of the characteristics of this piece seem to
indicate that this might have been the case.
The shield
measures nominally 14" in diameter. The shape of the
shield indicates it was hand cut, showing an irregular
shape as opposed to the perfect circles you typically
see on modern made shields.
The outer
cover is made of commercial leather of the type used on
Victorian period furniture of the late 1800’s. The
Native Americans of the period certainly would have had
access to old, cast off furniture and would have made
quick use of such a ready supply of tanned leather when
it was available, particularly by those Indians who were
employed by the shows that frequented the larger
metropolitan centers of the United States and Europe.
The cover is certainly old, nothing that was made in
modern times, and likely was made to replace a native
tanned leather cover that had worn out or was damaged.
The style of the cover resembles the types of covers
associated with such companies as the Buffalo Bill Wild
West Show. The cover is painted with what appears to be
intentionally shadowy figures of two buffalo, surmounted
by a band of light color across the top arc of the
circumference. Below the buffalo are two celestial
figures, a star and a circle – perhaps the moon or the
sun. The lacing to draw the edge of the cover around
the shield body is still present and can be drawn up
tight. It has been loosened for the photos in order to
show the detail of the shield normally concealed by the
cover. The edge of the cover where it gathered around
the reverse side of the shield is worn, evidence that
this shield was carried and subjected to use and wear,
rather than being a piece that was made solely for
display.
The main body
of the shield is about 5/16" thick and is made of two
layers of rawhide. There are small (less than 1/8" in
diameter) wooden pegs spaced 4-6" apart around the outer
edge, set back about ˝” from the edge, that were
evidently intended to stabilize the two layers of
rawhide as they cured. The face of the shield is
painted with a series of triangles around the perimeter
– red with a white and light blue outlining – and a 3”
yellow circle in the center. The carrying strap is a
strip of trade blanket wool – very much like one of the
old satillo style blankets – which is backed with beige
cotton and whip stitched with heavy cotton cord. The
strap is quite stout and was made to withstand heavy
use, showing far more effort and workmanship than would
have been expended for a piece intended to be sold to a
tourist for display or used as a show prop. The holes
for the leather thongs that secure the carrying strap to
the shield were burned through the rawhide with a heated
rod, not drilled or otherwise cut, a characteristic of
early Native American rawhide work. The combination of
the style of the painting on the shield and the type of
blanket material used to fashion the carrying strap
suggests this shield originated among one of the
Southwest tribes such as the Apache, Comanche or one of
the Pueblo groups.
I’ve shown
this piece to several very experienced collectors and
they agreed the shield pre-dates the cover. Photographs
of the shield were sent to be viewed by the curators at
the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. and a
senior staff member replied,
“The
[curators] think that the leather on the shield cover
looks like commercial leather and they guess that it is
Wild West Show-related. It looks like it dates to
around 1885-1905. They note that a tribe is not
identifiable, as is often the case with Wild West Show
material, since it was often made to fulfill the
spectators’ expectations of what “Indian stuff” should
look like”.
The shield is
definitely older than the cover and would certainly stop
an arrow or a blow from a club – absolutely too heavy to
have been made just for show or a parade piece.
Overall, this is a very interesting piece, and one that
will be a centerpiece for a display of Native American
weapons or an interesting addition to a collection of
equipment and arms of the Frontier Indian War Era Army.
$4500
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