David Cook Galleries

Morning Near Arizona, (Desert Landscape) is an original color pencil drawing from 1888 by George Elbert Burr (1859-1939). Portrays a spring/summer landscape with a tree and fauna, cl...

Sioux child's dress with matching leggings. Created by hand with native tanned hide and beaded with glass trade beads in blue, white, red, pink and green. Pictorial design elements i...

Museum quality Southern Arapaho (Hinono’ei) Native American Plains Indian leggings circa 1880s. Constructed of dyed native tanned hide with viridian green dye and ochre yellow embel...

A parfleche container in an envelope form, finely painted in an abstract design. Makes a stunning wall hanging alone or in a grouping with other parfleche or can be placed on a shelf or Stand. This was created by a North American Indian living in the Plateau cultural area - encompassing portions of what is now northern Idaho, western Montana, northeast and central Oregon, eastern Washington and southeast British Columbia. The tribes from this region include Kalispel, Flathead, Kutenai, Palus, Coeur D'Alene and Nez Perce. 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...

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 ...

Plains Tobacco bag, circa 1850-1880, native tanned elk or buckskin with a quill work panel with pictorial cross elements, trade beads along the opening and ...

Antique circa 1880 Rio Grande Saltillo Sarape, hand woven of Germantown yarns in colors of red, green, golden yellow, blue, and white in a diamond pattern, fringed at either end. Ready to hang on the wall with custom velcro mount (fully removable). The Rio Grande style of serape developed in the Southwestern United States in present day New Mexico and was inspired by Mexican Saltillo Serapes...

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...

This pair of 19th century antique moccasins date to circa 1880 and are constructed of native tanned hide and sewn with glass trade beads in colors of...

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 ...

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...