357
Sioux Quilled Hair Drop, with Cross of Lorraine
Estimate: $1,500-$2,500
Live Auction
Native American Art: The Lifetime Collection of Forrest Fenn, Part I
Description
Sioux Quilled Hair Drop, with Cross of Lorraine
third quarter 19th century
overall length 23 inches
Any rank-and-file adult male wore a bull's tail or a horse's tail in their hair to make their coiffures more impressive. In the 1850s, these bull's tails were decorated with beadwork, quillwork, mirrors, and so on, and used to secure feathers worn as war honors...
In this example, the double-barred French-style Cross of Lorraine is stamped from base metal. A popular style often seen in older Canadian-produced trade silver, this one is a religious souvenir... An early missionary to the Sioux wished to deliver a sermon in the native language. He drew a cross and asked an elderly Indian the proper name for it, which was given as "tusweca". During the sermon, the Sioux were astounded to learn that the Son of God had been nailed to a dragonfly (Hanson 1994: 105).
Published:
Spirits in the Art (Hanson 1994: 105, plate 110)
Provenance
Traded from the Gilchrist Institute, Tulsa, Oklahoma