1884.88.6

Collection type

Object

Description

Incised, painted, leather-fringed deer skin: ?knife-blade triangle, rayed 'sun' in centre surrounded by conventional human figures and ?knife designs

Geographical reference

United States of America

Northern America > North America > United States of America

Canada

Northern America > North America > Canada

Cultural groups

Native American

Subarctic

Innu

Person

Maker Unknown Maker

Field collector Unknown Collector

PRM source Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection

Date / Period

Date made: 1800-1850

Date collected

Prior to 1884

Acquisition information

Donated: 1884

Materials and processes

Material Deer Skin Animal, Material Pigment, Process Incised, Process Painted

Object numbers

Accession number: 1884.88.6

Research and responses

Tentative Naskapi attribution [LM].

There is an extremely similar robe in the Museo de America, Madrid [accession number 16372] with nearly identical painted designs, identified as Northern Plains. On the whole this appears to be a northern Plains item. It is likely to be a ceremonial robe given the central sun image. [LPeers 16 November 2017]

In correspondence with independent researcher Ruslan Yendrzhiyevskyy in 2017, Ruslan provided the following information: 'In the Museo de America, Madrid there is the Native American skin with a very similar painting (see below). The similarity is simply incredible - on both skins, the composition is based on a rectangle with two sharp rays in each corner, in the center there is the circle with a radial knife motif, around the perimeter of the square also there are knife-like elements. The Museo de America believes that his artifact came from the Great Plains. It seems that these skins were painted by one craftmaster, although also it can be assumed that one of the works is a later copy.'

Search terms: Picture and Graphic Art, Animalia, Clothing, Ceremonial Object, Painting, Animal Part