Antique Eskimo Story Board - 19th Century

Constructed of native tanned hide with trade beads and horse hair, this doll is wearing a traditional period dress and moccasins. A nomadic tribe, the Sioux territory included parts...

Antique 19th century Native American (Plains Indian) roach headdress made with dyed deer hair and porcupine guard hair on a u-shaped braided cloth with...

Antique Sioux (Native American/Plains Indian) Parfleche in a box form constructed of rawhide and intricately painted in an abstract design with hourglass and geometric motifs with natural pigments and red trade cloth. At the time this was created, the Sioux Indians were nomadic and are associated with vast areas of the Great Plains of the United States including present-day North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Montana. Authenticity is guaranteed. Box is in very good condition - please contact us for a detailed condition report. Parfleches are rawhide containers which were fundamental to the Plains way of life. Functioning essentially as protective travelling suitcases, they enabled the nomadic tribes to effectively pursue buffalo herds and migrate between seasonal camps. So critical were they to a nomadic existence that over 40 tribes are known to have historically produced parfleches. Collectively, these tribes inhabited an area which encompassed the entirety of the Plains, as well as the parts of the Southwest, the Transmontane and Western Plateau regions. Parfleches were, out of necessity, robust and versatile objects. They were designed to carry and protect within them anything from medicinal bundles to seasonal clothing or food. In fact, it was because of the containers’ robusticity and variety that parfleches earned their name in the Anglo world. Derived from parer (to parry or turn aside) and fleche (arrow), the word parfleche was coined by 17th century French Canadian voyageurs and used to describe indigenous objects made from rawhide. Despite their common utilitarian function, parfleches served as one of the major mediums through which Plains Indian tribes could develop their long-standing tradition of painting. In fact, it is in large part due to the parfleche that tribal style emerged. Even though parfleche painting developed simultaneously with beading and weaving, painting as an artistic tradition held particular importance in tribal culture. Believed to have evolved from tattooing, it had always been used as a conduit through which tribal and individual identity could be expressed. As such, many tribeswomen were deeply committed, some even religiously, to decorating their parfleche either with incised or painted motifs that were significant to them and/or the tribe. For some tribes, such as the Cheyenne, the decorative processes which surrounded parfleche production were sacred. For others, it seems that their parfleche designs shared an interesting artistic dialogue with their beadwork, indicating a more casual exchange of design motifs. This particular relationship can be seen in Crow parfleche...

Ceremonial Nanaka Tunic (man's shirt) from the Toro Palca region, Potosi, Bolivia, Quechua Indian culture. Made of wool with natural dyes in the late 19th century. Presented mounted ...

19th Century Navajo Blanket with a nine point diamond and cross design in red, white, black and purple, similar to a chiefs pattern with a classic banded moki background. Dimensions ...

Carved and painted wooden chilkat sign made in the mid. 20th century by E. Marcus Westby (1924-2010). Presented ready to hang, dimensions measure 31 ¾ x 66 ¼ x ¾ inches. Piece is ...

Siberian Eskimo people were introduced to tobacco in the 17th century, acquiring it from European traders in exchange for furs. Pipes based on European models, such as this example, ...

19th Century Hopi carved Kachina doll. Circa 1900: cottonwood with earthen pigments, 7 3/8 in. H., with a stand. Collection inventory number on back of skirt.

Circa 1890 Navajo weaving with a very elegant and modern design. Nice mottling of the natural colors, especially in the reds. This is a very bold weaving. This weaving is in good as ...

This wonderful original old surface plaque has a great old patina and a hand-carved and painted Indian chief. The Indian is in full original clothes with the feathers in his head. Wi...

Two 19th Century or possibly earlier Inuit Tool Handles, one of carved wood and the other of carved bone. The bone handle bears the unmistakable form of an upturned Seal’s head, a fa...

Plateau parfleche of steer or elk hide, gun barrel scraper used. Ex. LaPlant collection. Period: Last quarter 19th century Origin: Plateau Size: 12" x 24".       Family Owned & Ope...