David Cook Galleries

Acoma Olla (storage jar), Polychrome with abstract foliate motif. Earthenware with slip glazes, dimensions measure 11 ½ inches tall and 11 inches diameter. ...

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 ...

Navajo Double Saddle Blanket, circa 1900. R.B. 71211 woven on front top half. Weaving measures 47 x 23 ¼ inches.

Vintage Hand colored lithograph by artist Swankar Hanumann of a kachina (Katsina) Doll standing on a pedestal holding a rattle and bow. Presen...

Apache Basketry Olla with Crosses, woven of natural fibers, willow with devil's claw, circa 1910. The basket measures 12 ¼ height x 9 inches diameter. ...

Antique circa 1875-1900 historic pueblo pottery bowl, Southwestern Native American Indian dough bowl built by hand and painted with red/orange,...

A Classic Period (Pre-Reservation era) knife sheath created circa 1870 by a Crow (Plains Indian/Native American) artist. Constructed of Native tanned hid...

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...

American Indian moccasins, expertly beaded by a member of the Sioux (Plains Indian) tribe. The dark blue elements on the vamps symbolize Buff...

An original watercolor painting by San Ildefonso (Pueblo) Native American artist, Jose Roybal (1922-1978) depicting the Pueblo Harvest Dance. Presented in ...

Original painting by Randy Lee White Native American Indian ledger style in acrylic on canvas with assemblage including feather and wood. Wrapped canva...