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Early Crow Indian Beaded Rifle Scabbard c. 1890

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
Early Crow Indian Beaded Rifle Scabbard c. 1890
Advertising, Firearms, Antiques, Collectibles, Antique Furniture, Native American Artifacts, Navajo Jewelry, Silver, Gold, Montana History Artifacts, Navajo Indian Rugs, Taxidermy Mounts, Slot Machines, Cash Registers, Early Chinese Artifacts.
Showcased in this lot is an early Crow Native American Indian, beaded tanned hide rifle scabbard, originating from circa 1880-1890's. The scabbard is constructed of tanned leather hide, capped on each end with early red trade clothe, and is additionally adorned with flowing long cut hide fringe, along with numerous colors of early glass trade seed beads, including; chalk white, Cheyenne pink, robin egg blue, semi-transparent greasy yellow, dark blue, and semi-translucent medium green. The scabbard uses a tapered design and fits a Winchester Model 1873 lever action rifle of the same period (possibly crafted for this model in particular). The piece originates from a prominent Eastern Montana Museum collection. The scabbard shows very good condition, with no apparent bead loss, and supple leather hide. The beadwork shows an exceptional traditional geometric beaded pattern and is one of the finest authentic 19th Century rifle scabbards currently being offered for public sale. Including the additional length of the fringe, the scabbard measures 49 3/8" long, and 26 3/8" wide. The opening measures 6 3/4" wide, and 3 1/2" wide at the tip of the scabbard. Authentic early examples of beautifully beaded rifle scabbards are very scarce with most being in museum collections (with this example coming from a museum collection), here are a few examples that have sold at public auction of the same age and quality: Cheyenne Beaded Rifle Scabbard that sold for $36,000 at the 6/26/2008 Brian Lebel’s Old West Show & Auction sale, Plains Beaded Quilled Rifle Scabbard that sold for $24,500 at the 9/26/2009 Skinner Auction, the Crow Beaded Rifle Scabbard that sold for $6,000 at the 4/30/2016 North American Auction Co. sale, and the Crow Beaded Rifle Scabbard that sold for $6,750 at the 4/6/2018 Cowan’s Auctions sale (all shown with premiums). This is truly a fantastic authentic rifle scabbard.