While this bag and its overall dimensions are consistent with those of a strike-a-lite, the bag is entirely constructed from native-tanned hide, suggesting that it perhaps might be more apt to refer to this as a belt pouch.

This bag like comes from the Central Plains, as it appears to be self-fringed. However, a more detailed attribution becomes more complex, given the bag’s age. The bag is entirely pony beaded with an earlier form of pony bead - a translucent blue. The beads are arranged in a lazy-stitch with stacks of blue “horse tracks” on a white field.

8” long and 4” wide; accompanied by a custom stand.

Ex Marty Ingham, MT

#51140

Prior to the heavy influx of repeating rifles onto the Central Plains in the late 1860s and 1870s, quiver sets were a preferred weapons system for Plains Indian warriors. Accounts suggest that a warrior on horse back, armed with bow and arrow, was more lethal in battle than multiple enemies with muzzle loading rifles.

This quiver set has many of the hallmark traits which help us date it to this sought after period, commonly referred to as the “Indian Wars” period. That the set is beaded with early “micro” beads, including rows of “pony trader” blue; has a securing flap for the arrows; as well as remnants of sweat and body pigment on the backside - these are all features which indicate that this set was made and used for battle.

Perhaps more impressive: it is often the case sets from this time frame have undergone some restoration: replaced straps, bows and accoutrement, for example. This quiver set, which resided in the Oshkosh Public Museum from 1945-2011, appears to be all original.

42” long (bowcase) and 24” long (quiver)

Ex Arthur Kannenberg, WI, amateur archaeologist (1887-1945); Gifted to Oshkosh Public Museum, WI (#1998.22.270, collected 1945-2011).

Published: H. Malcom Grimmer and Thomas Cleary, eds. Art Indigenous: Masterworks of the Plains, Plateau, Prairie and Western Great Lakes, exh. cat. (H. Malcolm Grimmer American Indian Art, 2016), 44.

#51098

Strike-a-lites - bags aptly named because they occasionally housed steal strikers - were ubiquitously used on the Southern Plains. Women used them as sewing kits; men attached them to their quiver sets and used them as field repair kits.

This strike-a-lite is bigger than your traditional bag. The colors and design, however, represent classic preferences championed by the Kiowa and Comanche in the second half of the 19th century, including a rich pony trader blue ground and twisted fringe.

The provenance is of note. According to an accompanying record, this strike-a-lite "Reportedly gifted by Wild Bill Hickok to his close friend Jim Courtright, and then by descent to daughter, Lulu May Courtright Hart, who in turn gifted it to Carl W. Breihan, a St. Louis, MO Councilman. It was subsequently sold by Breihan in a Tom Keilman auction (late 1980s) to the present owner."

11" long and 4" wide; accompanied by a custom stand.

#51106

This pair of moccasins which has rawhide soles which utilize a double-welt construction. The uppers have lanes of beadwork which counter around the quarters and meet at the heel seam, where there is remnants of heel fringe. The lanes are sewn with early colors of seed beads, including pony trader blue and crimson. The vamps, meanwhile, employ a checkboard patter with greasy yellow and white. Through the vamps there is a chevron design.

9.5” long (each)

#51142

These particular types of blanket strips feature prominently in portraits taken of the Cheyenne and Arapaho in the ‘60s and ‘70s. In fact, a very similar blanket to this one was pictured in a Soule photo on an Arapaho encampment, taken between 1868 and 1874.

Blanket strips evolved, it is believe, out of a need to cover the unsightly seams on buffalo robes. They subsequently evolved during the 19th century to become a decorative element and status symbol all their own.

Older Cheyenne and Arapaho “strips” made from native tanned buffalo are today among the most sought after, often celebrated for their elegance and simplicity. This simple design is demonstrative of the transition beadworkers from pony beads to seed beads in the mi-19th century. The design format of this blanket strip is unusual, as the more common layout involves rosettes with opposing quadrants of navy or black against white.

49” long and 69” wide (blanket); 62” long and 7” wide (blanket strip).

Ex Paul Gray, NY; ex Dr. Robert Pamplin Jr, OR

Published: Mary Schlick and Bonnie Kahn, Keeping the Spirit Alive: American Indian Art from the Dr. and Mrs. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Collection (Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society Press, 2001), p. 13.

#51016

Knife sheaths which predate the 1870s are rare. Cheyenne examples from this time period are rarer still. This is as fine an example as one can find from this period.

This featured sheath has an earlier construction style: A folded piece of buffalo rawhide went minimally decorated but for the upper hemisphere of the sheath. The upper hemisphere has a panel of native tanned hide to which there is sewn seed beads in a classic “bar” design - a motif which would come to be a hallmark of Cheyenne beadwork for decades to come.

This sheath was collected by the late Bill Boyd, who was known for collecting premier examples of Northern Cheyenne knife cases. This was perhaps one of his finest. The elk antler sheath was posthumously added, but the period and style of the rare frontier knife compliments the sheath’s rugged simplicity and visceral beauty.

Many seasoned collectors speak about the great Plains objects having wonderful “soul”. This sheath and knife have it in spades.

9.5” long and 2.5” wide (sheath); 11” long (knife)

Ex Bill Boyd, OR (1939-2024)

#51108 & #51125

Traditionally, this style of knife sheath is referred to as a woman’s sheath. What makes this example remarkable is the fact that the sheath’s rawhide bodice is beaded, as opposed to painted. Most examples are either painted with a solid color like blue, red or green; or they are painted with a geometric design borrowed from parfleche painting traditions. In this instance, the female artist took a traditional parfleche design and instead beaded it, marking a significant contribution to Crow artwork. This rare and important feature was not lost on the many advanced collectors who have cumulatively served as the sheath’s custodian for well over a hundred years.

12.5” long and 4.5” wide (excl. drop)

Ex Joseph W. Keppler, NY (1872-1956); to George Heye and the Heye Museum, NY (“2/9521”, 1874-1957); to Milford Chandler, MI (“C-715”, 1889-1981); to Richard Pohrt Sr., MI.

PUBLISHED: Nina Sanders, ed., Apsáalooke: Women and Warriors (Chicago, IL: Neubauer Collegium, 2020), p. 65-66.

#51092

Surviving Wasco-Wishram material from the mid-19th century is exceedingly rare. A strap such as this would have been fastened to a bandolier bag. An example of an intact bag and strap can be found in the Splendid Heritage collection.

The strap featured here is decorated with seed beads, arranged in a loom beaded pattern, depicting interlocking stylized skeletal beings, also known as “ancestral figures.” These figures played a central role in the artistic traditions of the Columbia River.

Artists of the region had depicted these figures on rock walls, baskets and utilitarian objects for centuries. The arrival of European glass beads in the 19th century, however, provided female artists with a new medium through which they could recreate these traditional designs onto pouches. Decades later, these transferred motifs played a critical role in inspiring the artwork of the Underwood family, who used these ancient designs in commercial works.

Approximately 40” long

Ex Jack Curtwright, WA; ex Dr. Robert Pamplin Jr, OR.

Published: Mary Schlick and Bonnie Kahn, Keeping the Spirit Alive: American Indian Art from the Dr. and Mrs. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Collection (Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society Press, 2001), p. 49.

#51127

A spiral-woven container, likely constructed from cattail with beargrass and cedar bark overlay. The wallet is decorated with a series of registers with alternating rows of pictorials, including “hands” and zoomorphic quadrupeds known as “helldivers”.

8” wide and 5” tall

Ex Gene Quintana, CA; ex Dr. Robert Pamplin Jr, OR

Published: Mary Schlick and Bonnie Kahn, Keeping the Spirit Alive: American Indian Art from the Dr. and Mrs. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Collection (Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society Press, 2001), p. 42.

#51009

Horse whips or quirts came to perform a variety of functions on the Great Plains, including counting coup or touching an enemy in battle – an act considered to be the highest form of bravery. Their importance in Plains warrior culture therefore cannot be understated. And, in an ironic way, their popularity rose and fell alongside Plains nomadism.

Some of the most elaborate surviving quirts come to us from the mid-19th century, when elk antlers and recycled wooden objects served as canvases upon which warriors carved extensive programs of symbols. Some markings conveyed the owner’s rank and war honors; others perhaps his spiritual, cosmological or tribal allegiances.

This wooden quirt has many of the hallmarks of celebrated Prairie quirts, including its original wrist strap and lash, which seldom survive. Throughout the handle, there are lightly incised cross-hatched markings. On one side, there is a four-pointed star; an eagle fan or headdress; and a fish. The other side is decorated with a series of bands which frame two opposing hands. While the exact meaning of this arrangement is unclear, these symbols go way back in the Eastern Plains artistic tradition, some even with Great Lakes antecedents. They have deep connections to the hunter/warrior complex formed therein.

15” long (quirt); 27” long (lash); accompanied by a custom stand

Ex Helene Sage, VA, author of Native American Horse Gear: A Golden Age of Equine-Inspired Art of the Nineteenth Century (2012)

#51091

#

Awls played in important role in beadwork production. Female artists artists utilized them for tying knots and threading.

While awls are ubiquitous throughout the Plain and Great Lakes and Plateau, some of the most elaborately decorated examples come to us from the Eastern Plains. In the case of the latter, examples were often fashioned with a bone or antler handle and elaborately carved.

This exceptional awl exhibits many of the most celebrated traits of Mesquakie sculpture. It is ornately carved and painted on three sides with motifs, including Maltese crosses, hour-glasses, and multi-colored marking. Simply put, this is a masterpiece!

4.75” long (overall), 3.5” long (handle); accompanied by a custom stand.

Reportedly collected by Thomas Torlino (Navajo) during his enrollment at the Carlisle Indian School (1882-1885); ex Peter Wilson of Mechanicsburg, PA, pre1982; handed down by descent, PA; Thomas Cleary, NM (personal collection).

#50764

A native tanned hide upper affixed to upturned rawhide soles. The vamps are painted with red ochre which is flanked by lanes of sinew-sewn seed beads whereby white, navy, green, crimson interlocking triangles. The same treatment carries through to the rounded tongue. The opening consists of elevated ankle flaps which are accented with edge beading and a single lane of beadwork. The heel seam is accented with short fringe.

Approximately 7" tall and 10" long (each, excl. heel fringe); accompanied by a custom stand.

Collected by explorer and author Thierry Mallet, FRANCE (1884–1969, likely collected between 1923 and 1930); handed down by descent, FRANC (deaccessioned April 2025).

#51097

A woven or twined bag likely woven with a combination of nettle fiber and perhaps buffalo wool. On the recto side, three rows of interconnected Thunderbirds are flanked by columns of red and green woven yarns which form interlocking quadrilateral shapes. The verso side consists of an interlocking grid of diamonds, flanked by similarly rendered columns.

The bag portrays the juxtaposition of the Thunderbird on one side, and possibly the pools of the Underwater Panther on the verso. This duality demonstrates the cosmological struggle between the powers above and below. A very similar example which was collected by Milford Chandler (1889-1981) can now be found at the Smithsonian in Washington DC (#14/907).

6.5” tall and 10” wide

Ex Burton Thayer, MN (1899-1979); ex John Molloy, NY; ex John Painter, OH (1991-2007)

Published: John Painter, American Indian Artifacts: The John Painter Collection (Cincinnati, OH: George Tassian Organization Inc., 1991), p. 91-92; John Painter, A Window on the Past: Volume Two (Cincinnati, OH: John Painter, 2003), p. 55.

#51135

“Ball and Cone” Earrings, as the name suggests, refers to a type of earring in which a metal hoop is ornamented with a metal ball from which a cone protrudes. Men from the groups of the Eastern Plains typically wore them.

This pair is unique and appears to have had two lives. The original earring - the ball and cone - is an older form. Somewhere in time, however, perhaps in the late 19th century, a metal chain was added to each earring. And with it, there was affixed a steel cut out of a gunstock club.

The inclusion of the latter feature is important. Gunstock clubs are power symbols which go back centuries prior, all the way to the warrior-complexes of the Woodlands and Great Lakes cultures. The wearer of these earrings undoubtedly chose these cutouts in order to convey his military prowess.

So important were these that they caught the attention of Burton Thayer (1899-1979) of Minnesota, an early and important collector of exceptional objects from the Great Lakes and Plains. Burton’s contribution to the field is today recognized in the many articles he published in Minnesota Archaeologist and correspondences he had with contemporary scholars like former Denver Art Museum curator Norm Feder.

5.5” long (each)

Ex Burton Thayer, MN (1899-1979); ex Gary Spratt, CA.

#51031

A woven or twined bag likely woven with a combination of nettle fiber and perhaps buffalo wool. On the recto side, three rows of opposing quadrupeds. The two upper animals could be deer, while and bottom animal is likely a horse. The animals are flanked by columns of red woven yarns.

The verso side consists of a columns of hexagonal shapes, likely “whirlpools” churned up by the tail of the Underwater Panther. At the center of the composition, with a central hourglass form, there appears to be a downward-facing, perhaps diving, Thunderbird.

The inclusion of a horse here is interesting, as this animal became a major focal point of trade and wealth, particularly in the Eastern Plains. It is equally interesting to observe how conventions used to depict the Underwater Panther have been perhaps used to also come up with the new visual language for a new being: the horse.

6.5” tall and 8” wide

Ex Burton Thayer, MN (1899-1979); ex John Molloy, NY; ex John Painter, OH (1991-2007)

Published: John Painter, American Indian Artifacts: The John Painter Collection (Cincinnati, OH: George Tassian Organization Inc., 1991), p. 55; John Painter, A Window on the Past: Volume Two (Cincinnati, OH: John Painter, 2003), p. 55.

#51136

A harlequin set of child’s moccasins which are both made from rawhide soles and green dyed bodies. The uppers on each moccasins is decorated with seed beads in which white, blue and red are arranged in a checkerboard pattern. The heels are accented with fringe.

Although the moccasins are not identical, the similarity in beaded design, size and overall construction suggest that these might have been made within the same family, perhaps even for the same individual.

Approximately 7” each (excl. 6” fringe)

Ex Erich Erdoes, NM

#51095

A child’s strike-a-lite is constructed from commercial leather, which is sewn with commercial leather and glass seed beads. The recto side is decorated with two stacked downward pointing powder blue triangles which are bordered in bands of yellow, navy and finally white. The triangles sit on an opaque red field. The edges are bordered with blocks of powder blue and navy. The base seam is lined with tin cones, the corners of which are accented with long drops. The opening flap is also beaded and lined with tin cones. The verso side of the body is comprised of multi-colored stepped blocks.

The Kiowa famously dedicated significant time and care to their children’s adornment. Mothers and grandmothers lovingly made clothing, cradles, moccasins and bags - recreating the same iconic family patterns, just on a smaller scale. The intricacy of their work not only conveyed their affection for the child, it also communicated the family’s social standing.

This very ornate strike-a-lite would have likely belonged to a little boy or girl, attached to a formal outfit. No where is this better seen than in a famous portrait taken by George Bentz c. 1894 of a young Kiowa woman named, “O-o-be:, now at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. (Cat #OPPS NEG.42933 A).

5.5” long and 3” wide; 13” overall

#51138

This necklace is unique. Typically, necklaces such as these are strung with an array of trade beads and accented with an undecorated conch shell.

In this case, the commercial beads through which the necklace is threaded consist of a wide array of exotic glass trade beads. The conch, meanwhile, is incised with a drawing of a Plains woman in profile.

Few incised necklaces are known. The handful which exist can be found in museums, typically field collected by ethnographers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The portrayal here of a woman is curious, however, as most pictorials portray animals or deities. Could this be the owner? Perhaps this was a preferred wife of the carver?

This uniqueness of this necklace was clearly not lost on collector Ann Evans (1871–1941), much of whose collection eventually found its way to the Denver Art Museum.

Approximately 18” long (necklace, as displayed); 2” diameter (conch)

Ex Anne Evans, CO (1871-1941); handed down by descent

#50942

Parfleche cylinders were canvases through which Crow female artists perhaps painted their most intriguing and exciting designs. This cylinder, probably created at beginning of the Reservation Period (1880-1920), would likely have been used to house parade regalia.

Elaborately painted Crow cylinders have long been celebrated by American Indian Art collectors and art enthusiasts alike. It is no surprise then that this particular cylinder was showcased at the Aspen Art Museum, along with other examples of exceptional American Indian Art in the exhibit, “Art of Grace and Passion.”

21” long and 5” diameter (cylinder); 37” long (fringe)

Ex Bill and Elaine Jarrett, CO; ex Stanley and Linda Marcus, TX

Published: George Shaw and Teena Shaw, Art of Grace and Passion: Antique American Indian Art (Aspen, CO: Aspen Art Museum, 1999), p. 30, 102.

#51130

With the onset of the Reservation Period (1880-1920), Plateau groups increasingly adopted Anglo equipment for everyday use. Female artists often modified and decorated these items for their own purposes. From this, a new genre of ornamentation evolved.

Cartridge pouches constructed from commercial leather such as this were readily available in the closing decades of the 19th century, in large part due to the influx of breach loading rifles into the American West. Bags such as this would have been threaded through a belt and worn around the hips.

On the flap, a quatrefoil design - an abstracted floral motif - is beaded in classic colors. While perhaps flashier colors would have undoubtedly been available at the time that this was made, the artists chose restraint, electing to instead use colors which can typically be on Plateau beadwork from decades prior.

5.5” tall and 6” wide

#51139

Bandolier bags can be found throughout the indigenous Woodlands, Great Lakes and Great Plains of North America. The bag’s general form - a strap and pouch - is thought to have been derived from European ammunition pouches, evolving over the centuries to take on a variety of regional forms.

Female artists manufactured them, often painstakingly for their male counterparts, in order to satisfy their need for a “pocket”. With the approach of the 20th century, however, these bags increasingly became canvases for artistic expression and social standing rather than utilitarian items.

This style of bandolier is among the most celebrated forms in American Indian Art. Examples of these bags have been extensively published; they are the anchors to many major museum collections throughout North America.

This particular bag was collected by Martha Ker Underwood (1823-1890) of Carlisle, PA. Underwood was a teacher at the Carlisle school in the 1880s. It is presumed that she collected the bag sometime around then, along with the famous Henderson Ledger Book, which now resides at the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College.

29” tall and 22” wide

Collected by Martha Ker Underwood, Carlisle, PA (1823-1890); handed down by descent; to her grandniece, Josephine Underwood Ritter, PA (1885-1946); handed down by descent; ex Dr. Robert Pamplin Jr., OR (collected 2008-2025).

#51070

This style of bandolier is today a celebrated style

This arrangement of beaded strips represents the contrasting styles used to decorate shirts and leggings from the Southern, Central and Northern Plains. From this diversity of form, we begin to see the emergence of tribal beadwork styles which gradually codify in the second half of the 19th century.

(left)

Shirt Strip

Upper Missouri, possibly Crow, pre-1850

Montana, North Dakota

Native tanned buffalo hide, pony beads, sinew

16” long and 3” wide

Ex William Plitt, NM

#51110

(center)

Leggings Strip

Central Plains, possibly Cheyenne, pre-1850

Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming

Native tanned elk hide, pony beads, sinew

29” long and 3.25” wide

Ex Willliam Plitt, NM

#51109

(right)

Shoulder or Legging Strip

Jicarilla or Ute, pre-1860

Colorado, New Mexico

Native tanned elk hide, pigment, pony beads, sinew

11.25” long and 3” wide

#51113

This atypical blanket strip likely comes to us from Oklahoma. The symbolism on the strip consists of alternating peyote birds and feather fans. A strip like this likely would have been affixed to a commercial blanket and worn to formal occasions.

This strip demonstrates well the artistic renaissance which occurred with Southern Plains beadwork in the closing decades of the 19th century. During this time, many neighboring groups, each with its own artistic traditions, began to experiment with new designs, concepts, sewing techniques and color schemes.

This is a truly unusual and artistically visual object.

55.5” long and 4” wide

Ex Dr. Robert Pamplin Jr., OR

#51052