A native tanned hide pouch which is sinew-sewn with “micro beads”. The pattern consists of a classic triangle-diamond-triangle pattern in white on a pony trader blue ground, executed in a lazy-stitch.

This standard format of bag becomes the canon which becomes commonplace with Apache strike-a-lites in the late 19th century. However, the design and beads speak an earlier generation. This strike-a-lite represents one of the earliest examples of Southern Plains beadwork.

Ex Marv Lince, OR

7.25” long and 5” wide (pouch); 11.5” overall

#51169

A rawhide liner, covered with native tanned hide on the recto side and decorated with sinew-sewn "micro beads". The liner is likely from a mid-century recycled parfleche - potentially carved from the middle of a Cheyenne or Arapaho flat case. The beaded front consists of an of central stepped hour-glass motif, constructed from alternating tapering bars of crimson and powder blue. The motif sits on white and is framed with a cobalt border. The lower hemisphere has a pine green field which is vertically bisected by a slightly curved white-red-white line which follows the contour of the outer edge of the sheath. The sheath is secured by two metal rivets, possibly a later addition to the sheath, along with a frontier-style knife consisting of a prong-horn handle. Written on the back of the sheath is the accession # “M119”.

Ex Lord Alistair McAlpine (1942-2014); ex Larry Frank, NM; ex Bill Boyd, OR

9 3/4" long and 3" wide (sheath)

#51173

A bag constructed out of commercial leather which is decorated with sinew-sewn seed beads on the recto and verso sides. The recto side is fully beaded with a lazy-stitch in which two horizontal triangle-diamond-triangle motifs each flank a central triangle-squared-triangle design. The verso side of the strike-a-lite consists of three columns of interconnected blocks which float on a navy field. All three motifs are executed in crimson, trimmed in white, and sit on a blue ground. The fringe attached to the base seam is twisted and painted green. Central and end fringes are also beaded with white seed beads.

Ex Toby Herbst, NM

13.5" long and 5" wide

#51175

A rawhide liner which is wrapped with a native-tanned hide sleeve, the recto of which is decorated with sinew-sewn seed beads. The layout has decorated with classic Sioux colors: red, yellow and blue. The upper hemisphere is beaded with a central hour-glass with alternating yellow and red bars on a powder blue ground. The lower hemisphere consists of the same hour-glasses which are horizontally oriented on the blue field. The hour-glasses are vertically bisected by a green lane.

Ex Erich Erdoes, NM; ex Norm Exton, WA

9” long (excl. drop) and 2.75” wide; accompanied by a custom stand.

#51145

A pouch which is constructed from a native tanned hide front and a commercial cloth back. The recto panel consists of a beautiful quilled panel with interlocking multi-colored geometrics.

The bag appears to a native-done recycle, possibly a decorative panel from a larger object like an Eastern Sioux cradle. Such recycles were commonplace given the time needed and value assigned to producing such intricate artwork.

This exquisite work formerly belonged to Burton Thayer (1899-1979) of Minnesota; he was a prominent collector and an amateur archaeologist who was active in the early/mid-20th century. Burton was a contemporary of scholars like Norm Feder, for example; and Burton sourced some of the most important objects to come out of the Great Lakes area. The objects he collected are typically of the highest artistic caliber.

Ex Burton Thayer, MN; ex Gary Spratt, CA; ex Bill Plitt, NM

5” long and 4.5” wide; accompanied by a custom stand.

#51144

A pair of supple soft sole moccasins constructed from deer skin. The vamps and the cuffs are decorated with naturally dyed porcupine quills. The cuffs are decorated with abstracted vegetal(?) forms, bordered with red silk and trimmed with glass seed beads. The vamps consists of three quilled lanes in which green bars alternate with orange. The central bar is orange with sequential blue blocks. Outside of these lanes are geometric quilled embroidery. Accompany the moccasins is a custom table stand.

In addition to the pair’s superb condition, another element of note on these moccasins is the orange and green dyes found on the porcupine quills. While wholly uncommon, these colors are typically found on earlier examples. An important American Indian Art magazine 2011 article by Sherry Brydon further discusses this form, highlighting significant examples in museum collections.

Ex H. Malcolm Grimmer, NM; ex Marty Lunde, MN

Published: H. Malcolm Grimmer, “Seneca Moccasins, circa 1800” American Indian Art Magazine (Summer 2011): 1. Thomas Cleary, "Moccasins" Summer 2021 (Summer 2021): 18-19.

10" long; accompanied by a custom stand.

#51153

This mirror bag is constructed from native tanned hide, and beaded on both sides with sinew-sewn seed beads - revealing an identical design. The lac-dyed Stroud strap is also hide backed.

Mirror bags from this period are few and far between. Perhaps the most notable comparable can be found in the Lt. G K Warren collection (acquired c. 1855), now in the Smithsonian. The mirror bag shown is perhaps a little younger, but has many of the design traits which are hallmarks for this time period: pony bead accents; twisted fringe; lac dyes; etc. Additional information can be made available upon request.

Of particular note is that this bag is untouched, having no restoration whatsoever; it also still has its original mirror.

Thomas Cleary, NM (personal collection)

32” long and 5.5” wide (overall); accompanied by a custom stand.

#50464

A native-tanned hide bag - possibly elk? - painted with traces of red pigment and decorated along the opening, side seams and base panel with sinew-sewn seed beads. The base panel consists of alternating crimson and pony trader blue bars which sit on a white field. The neck of the bag is unusually decorated with horizontal lanes consisting with multi-colored block - a motif which is mirrored in the quilled panel below.

This pipe bag is in excellent condition, and has unique features which all hallmarks of 1860s design: pony bead spacers between the quilled slats; wide beaded lanes; as well as early and classic bead colors.

37” long and 5.5” wide; accompanied by a custom stand.

#51164

A ledger drawing executed in watercolors, inks and graphite. The Roan Eagle Ledger Book - named after the principal artist, Roan Eagle (b. 1863) - is among a handful of ledger books for which the individual pages have been made available to collectors.

This particular page was made well into the Reservation Period (1880-1920), when many warrior-artists resorted to drawing these pages for commercial reasons. Similar works by Roan Eagle can today be found in the Smithsonian in Washington DC and the Hood Museum in Dartmouth College.

This drawing belonged to New York fashion designer Iris Apfel (1921-2024). Apfel was celebrated for her keen eye, building a formidable collection and collectibles that have been exhibited and published.

Ex Morning Star Gallery, NM (late 1980s); ex Iris Apfel, NY

7.25” long and 12.125” wide (unframed)

#51174

A sheath constructed from commercial leather, wrapped on the top with a piece of native tanned hide, which is in turn beaded with sinew-sewn seed beads. The beaded panel consists of two horizontally bisected stepped hour-glasses on a white field. An accompanying antique knife comes from a Wyoming forger.

Beaded commercial hide sheaths from the Cheyenne are exceedingly rare. From a design perspective, the motifs are reminiscent of an earlier generation of beadwork. This is perhaps why the sheath found its way into the Boyd collection - a collection known for its superior Cheyenne and Arapaho sheaths.

Ex Morning Star Gallery, NM; ex Bill Boyd, OR.

Published: H. Malcolm Grimmer and Jordan Davis, Volume III exh. cat. (Morning Star Gallery, 1993), p. 46.

9” long

#51123

A pouch constructed out of native tanned hide with is decorated with thread-sewn faceted beads.

Belt pouches became a popular form towards the end of the nineteenth century. The form - flat and fairly square - became an ideal canvas for artists to experiment with pictorial compositions. In this case, the artist chose to execute a floral design.

While it is sometimes challenging is isolate a tribal designation, bags such as these were commonly produced by artists from the Plateau. It is possible, however, that this bag could be Crow.

Ex Stephen Johnston, OH

5” tall and 4.75” wide.

#50870

A necklace constructed from native tanned hide thongs, leather brackets and decorated with an assortment of elaborate glass European trade beads.

Choker necklaces are often decorated with some of the most expensive and unusual beads available. The form became particularly popular among Ute and Jicarilla Apache Indians in the third-quarter of the 19th century, featuring prominently in early portraits. In fact, there is a photo of a Jicarilla Apache boy taken in 1871, for example, shows and almost identical example to the one here.

One can surmise that the beads - more importantly their rarity, size and quantity - became subtle statements of wealth and worldliness. This choker here is decorated elegantly with over five different types of trade beads which would have been painstakingly sourced by the Ute or Apache through trading networks along the Rocky Mountains.

Ex Erich Erdoes, NM

21” long

#50510

Mirror bags, as the name suggests, house mirrors which used by men to adorn themselves for seminal events and communal gatherings.

The Crow and Nez Perce are celebrated for having made some of the most elaborate surviving examples. This is especially true of examples from the late 19th century, when groups from the Plateau and TransMontaigne regions dressed up for parades and celebration days.

Ex Linda and Phillip Curry Collection

22.5” long; accompanied by a wall mount

#51108

Southern Plains bridles are rare items which speak to the complex horse trade which occurred therein. Southern Plains groups like the Comanche – who became formidable horse breeders in the 18th Century – adapted their own equipment from Spanish and Mexican prototypes, modifying the latter to better suit nomadic life on the Plains.

The bridle seen here is likely of Comanche manufacture. While the commercial leather straps and German Silver pieces would of course have been traded for, the design work on the metal shows evidence of Southern Plains metalwork from late 19th and early 20th century. An almost identical example - with similar star motifs - can be found in the King Museum in Sheridan, WY.

41” long and 8” wide

#51166

A pair of hard-soled moccasins with soft uppers, assembled with commercial thread and sinew, and decorated with Crow-stitched seed beads. Originally, it would appear that the moccasins had a soft-sole construction, but the soles were subsequently replaced with rawhide. The beaded vamps consist of geometrically inscribed bands which sit on a blue ground. The background is trimmed in white and bordered with a lane of pink with interspersed green blocks.

Ex Mike Maxwell, CO; ex Peter Cleary, NM; ex Ken Stasiak, OK.

Approximately 10" long

Published: Thomas Cleary, ed. BraveArt: The Emergence of Tribal Style In Plains Indian Art - 1840s to 1880s (Groton, MA: The Groton School, 2005), p. 21.

#51179

“Puzzle Stems” refer to carefully carved pipe stems which have elaborate smoking channel pathways. The stem here is of standard “council pipe” format, with a long flat tapering form - likely executed with ash - which is file-branded in sections. The carvings consist of long pronounced negative spaced which are painted with red pigment. The accompanying bowl is made from Catlinite with a flared bowl and pronounced finial with an undulating ridge.

Prescribing an exact attribution to these types of council pipes can be challenging. Luckily, a similarly carved pipe - now at the Smitsonian (Cat # 39624) - was collected from a Chippewa headman named, “Hole-in-the-Day”. The bowl is likely a generation earlier, extending into the first half of the 19th century.

Ex Jim Ritcie, OH; ex Robert Pamplin Jr, OR (stem)

36” long (stem) and 5” long (bowl)

#51180

A pouch constructed out of commercial leather and decorated with sinew-sewn seed beads. The color palette consists of navy, white and butterscotch orange - the last of which is fairly uncommon.

Pouches such as these were used by both men and women as tool kits. Women often suspended these from their belts while men might display these from their quiver sets.

6” long and 3.75” wide

#51171

A elongated case constructed out of commercial leather and decorated on the recto with sinew-sewn “micro beads.” The opening flap and base seam are decorated with tin cones which are suspended from green stained fringe. The corners are accented with elongated green hide thongs which are ornamented with glass trade beads and tin cones.

Pouches such as these would have typically been suspended from belts and would have served as utility pouches to house a variety of tools, spare parts, etc.

9.5” long and 2.5” wide

#51170