70a

Oglala Lakota Sioux War Shirt w/ Elk Teeth 1870-80

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:7,000.00 - 14,000.00 USD
Oglala Lakota Sioux War Shirt w/ Elk Teeth 1870-80
Advertising, Firearms, Antiques, Collectibles, Antique Furniture, Native American Artifacts, Navajo Jewelry, Silver, Gold, Montana History Artifacts, Navajo Indian Rugs, Taxidermy Mounts, Tomahawks, Montana Saddlery, War Shirts, Beadwork, Turquoise, Sterling, Chaps, Yellowstone..
The lot features an exceptional circa 1870-1880’s War Shirt from the Oglala Lakota Sioux Native American Indians. The piece shows an Indian tanned hide construction with excellent blue ocher mineral pigment painted center section and blue mineral painted stripes along each arm. The shirt shows a red trade clothe hide sewn color trim and has wonderful long thin cut fringe at the base of the shirt that is accented by a thin blue ocher mineral painted line. The war shirt front shows a triangle flap with blue paint and twenty-two Elk Ivory teeth sewn in a tiered pattern and framed with long thin cut hide fringe that is decorated with various authentic early trade beads such as solid brass beads, wound glass red beads, skunk medicine beads, chevrons, Czechoslovakian glass tube beads, bone beads, and various other colors of wound glass beads. The rear of the shirt shows a matching triangle flap that shows circles and lines in blue ocher mineral pigment paint and long thin cut fringe. One of the most unique attributes of the shirt is the addition of red trade clothe wrapped long strands of Human hair shown accenting the center medallions and shoulder fringe. The notable Chiefs of the Lakota Sioux were said to have a special ceremony in which they became “Shirt Wearing Chiefs” which were considered the most brave and honorable among all the warriors and chiefs in the tribe. The shirts were made using the traditional war shirt design and showed a blue ocher mineral paint along the top chest area and were covered in tufts of human hair and coup eagle feathers. These Sioux Shirt Wearers War Shirts are exceedingly rare with this shirt showing various attributed similar to these rare shirts including the tufts of hair and blue paint. Eagle feathers are not present on this shirt but could have been removed from a previous collector due to the strict laws involving the sale of the feathers. This example shows a truly fine museum quality good condition and displays very well. Provenance: From an important large private museum collection of Native American Weapons and artifacts in Paris, France. The dress measures 33 1/2" long from the neck line to the bottom of the waist fringe, 53 1/2" wide from the tips of each outstretched sleeve, 16" across the chest, underneath each armpit, and 25" wide across the bottom of the dress. The piece was purchased from a notable European Auction House for over $5,000 some years ago, where it was found to be of an authentic age and origin.