A fine and rare Cheyenne beaded tobacco bag
The finely tanned and yellow-dyed hide container profusely decorated with a classic bar design on the main panel, a box band up the neck paralleled by striped lane beading, with tabs edged in pony beads and trailing tin cones, a short section of the lengthy fringe wrapped in quills and hung with more tin cones.
length 27in
length 27in
Sold for
US$ 67,100
inc. premium
Footnotes
- Cf:
Bernstein and McMaster, p. 152, cat. no. 102 for a Kiowa cradle - a very different sort of object, yet one related in aesthetic vision, color palette and sheer artistic exuberance to this tobacco bag. One might suggest this is a comparison between apples and oranges, but the inspirational impulse touched on for the creation of these two visual treats is one and the same. Cheyenne beaded tobacco bags are customarily held in high esteem by collectors and aficionados of Plains material culture, and a relatively high number are designed with the color bar concept seen here in the central section as the basis for their visual appeal. Nonetheless, as in most every creative context, a true artist must at times step outside of her tradition and upbringing to reach a distinct level of profundity. In the case of this classic yet compellingly unique beaded pouch, as in the sublime Kiowa cradle from the Diker collection, one can witness in appreciation the essence of a masterpiece.
Category: Ethnographic Art / Native American
Auction terms and conditions