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Southern Cheyenne Painted War Shield c. 1870-1880

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD
Southern Cheyenne Painted War Shield c. 1870-1880
This is a rare and authentic circa 1870-880 Southern Plains Painted Hide War Shield attributed to the Southern Cheyenne. The piece is from the Reinhold Wurzel collection in Frankfort, Germany. The shield is comprised of a bent wood branch with stretched and wetted Buffalo hide in a 21 inch diameter. The piece features an exceptional polychrome pigment painted symbols and designs made to represent the power of the sun and rain in colors of blue, red, yellow, and green all trimmed in black. Close up examination of the piece under high powered magnifiers shows actual original brush strokes on the black border and accents. The front of the shield shows two drops of old trade clothe bundles with old tarnished hawk trade bells and a single black bear claw tied on with buckskin lacing. There are other pierced holes in the shield that likely held eagle or hawk feather drops at one time, but were removed due to current laws. The original shoulder arm strap is still attached on the reverse. The shield was collected from the Cheyenne Indians by Reinhold’s father, Rudolph Wurzel in circa 1880 while he was working railroad construction in the Oklahoma/Southern Nebraska region. It was later taken back to Germany with him and remained in the Reinhold Wurzel collection of tribal arts in Frankfort, Germany until it was purchased by noted collector Ben Thompson in 1998 when it was then taken back into the US. The piece shows the proper wear and patina of fading colors indicative of its wonderful age and is truly a rare authentic example. Measures overall 21 5/8” x 20 7/8”.