Relics of the American West: 1850-1920
Lot 2008:
Description
This striking piece is an authentic late 19th-century Plains Indian knife sheath, likely Lakota (Sioux) or Arapaho, dating to the 1890s. It features classic “Reservation Era” aesthetics, including a vibrant white-heart red and “greasy yellow” geometric pattern worked in a traditional lazy stitch on a white seed-beaded field. The construction utilizes hand-tanned buckskin with a hardened rawhide interior for blade protection. Notable period details include the red-dyed porcupine quill-wrapped tab and the tin cone terminal with a red horsehair tuft—a symbolic “bleeding” motif common in Plains warrior culture. The item shows age-appropriate wear, including minor bead loss at the stress points, hardening of the hide, and some fading or fragmentation of the quillwork, all consistent with a 130-year-old artifact. H 11.5″ (overall) Sheath itself 5.5”, W 2.25″, D 0.5″. Please see photos.
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