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Chief Smoke-Slow Buffalo Bull Steatite Bowl 18th C

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:5,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD
Chief Smoke-Slow Buffalo Bull Steatite Bowl 18th C
This is a historic and important steatite stone carved cooking vessel or bowl from Old Chief Smoke, a Wagluhe Oglala Sioux Native American Indians from the late 18th Century. The 1700’s bowl has been examined and authenticated by renowned historian and Togia language expert, Wendell Grangaard of The Guns of History, Inc. The bowls shows a brown to black steatite stone which would have come from a mine in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in the Rammel Mountain of the Grand Teton Mountain Range. The bowl has been carved / signed / etched in Lakota Togia language, “Kill Pawnee – Slow – Campsite – Mountain (Laramie) gift – Snake Nation – Standing Bull – Slow Buffalo Bull – Steal Many Buffalo Hides – Buffalo Bull” (as shown on Illustration 1). Old Chief Smoke was a Wagluhe Oglala Sioux and considered one of the original head chiefs. Born in 1774, he was the son of Body Parts and Looking Walker Woman and was originally given the name Standing Bull, but later in manhood he was named Smoke. Chief Smoke took the name Slow Buffalo Bull but was also referred to as Smoke. Slow Buffalo Bull aka Chief Smoke belonged to the Kiyaska Band (Cutt Offs) and the Itesica Band (Bad Face) and was the chief of the largest and strongest of the scene Lakota Sioux divisions and one of the last great Shier Wearers. He had five wives, Looking Cloud woman, Comes Out Slow Woman, Burnt Her Woman, Yellow Haired Woman and Brown Eyes and several children including Spotted Horse Woman, Chief Man Afraid of His Horses I, Chief Red Cloud, Chief Bull Bear III, Chief Solomon “Smoke ii”, Chief American Horse I, Chief Big Mouth, Chief Blue Hose, Woman Dress, and Chief No Neck. The bowl is thought to have been given to Chief Smoke as a child in the late 18th Century from the Snake Nation or Shoshone Indians and later in his life, marking the bowl as Slow Buffalo Bull. The Teton Hunkpatila (The Camp at the End of the Circle) dominated his life until his death in 1864. Shortly before his death Slow Buffalo Bull gave his war shirt to Colonel William F. Collins, who later donated it to the Smithsonian Institute in 1866. Short Buffalo Bull’s body was also taken to the Smithsonian, where it remained for 130 years until it was returned and buried at Porcupine, South Dakota. (Please see the attached written provenance from Wendell Grangaard for sources). The piece shows overall very good well-preserved condition with a hairline crack at one edge with slight chip. Measures 6” in diameter and 2.25”H.