Rawhide Container (Parfleche)
Lakota (Teton Sioux)
Plains
late 19th-early 20th century
Cow rawhide, native-tanned leather, and pigment
Overall: 7 5/16 × 17 1/8 × 8 11/16 in. (18.5 × 43.5 × 22 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Guido R. Rahr, Sr., Class of 1951P
985.47.26522
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
19th century
Object Name
Personal Gear: Box
Research Area
Native American
Native American: Plains
On view
Inscriptions
Attached Tag: "7. Trunk, rawhide, Sioux" Marks: In graphite on bottom exterior: "M74"
Label
Indigenous women from what is often referred to as “the Plains” have long created works of great beauty that serve utilitarian purposes. They have also long adapted artistic forms to incorporate materials acquired through international trade, which preceded the arrival of Europeans. However, along with the arrival of European settlers came an influx of new materials such as beads and vibrant paints. Women introduced these materials into existing practices of embellishing items such as bags, moccasins, and other clothing. Notice the variations of the geometric shapes depicted on these items.
From the 2025 exhibition Always Already: Abstraction in the United States, curated by John Stomberg, Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961 Director; Jami Powell, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Indigenous Art; and Amelia Kahl, Barbara C. and Harvey P. Hood 1918 Senior Curator of Academic Programing
Course History
NAIS 8.01, Perspectives in Native American Studies, Heid Erdrich, Fall 2022
Exhibition History
Always Already: Abstraction in the United States, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, April 26,2025.
Patterns of Life, Patterns of Art: The Rahr Collection of Native American Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, May 2-June 19, 1987.
Publication History
Barbara A. Hail and Gregory C. Schwarz, Patterns of Life, Patterns of Art: The Rahr Collection of Native American Art, Hanover: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 1987, p.65, no.59.
Provenance
Collected by Guido Reinhardt Rahr, Sr. (1902-1985), Manitowoc, Wisconsin; given to present collection, 1985.
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