Relics of the American West: 1850-1920
Lot 2211:
Description
This lot features a striking Native American-style medicine shield and a coordinating painted jawbone club, likely contemporary artisan-made in the traditional Plains Indian style. The shield is constructed of thick, heavy rawhide that has been shrunk and fire-hardened to remain rigid without a frame, a technique historically used to deflect arrows and debris. It is meticulously hand-painted with a split-field design of red and black stripes against a white ground, centered by a powerful black bear silhouette and claw motifs. Adornments include prominent black-tipped feathers, leather thongs, glass trade beads, and a small “medicine” pouch. The accompanying club is fashioned from a large mammal jawbone, featuring matching painted bear iconography and a red cloth-wrapped handle. Both pieces show intentional aging to provide a rustic, ethnographic aesthetic; the rawhide is professionally cured and rigid, with minor natural surface variations and vibrant, intentionally distressed pigments. H 28″, W 16″, D 3″ (Shield); H 17″, W 8″, D 2.5″ (Club). Please see photos for condition.
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