Northern Plains Painted Buffalo Robe

third quarter 19th century

Brightly painted in reds, yellows, blues, and greens and having lived multiple lives; the center of the robe features an earlier painted design of two concentric circles of repeating feathers arranged in a sunburst/bonnet pattern, typical of Upper Missouri and Sioux robes.

Circling the central design, as a likely later addition, are several exploit scenes between the Sioux (identifiable by their leggings and hairpipe breastplates) and Crow, complete with pompadour hairstyles and hair drops/extensions. The scenes, each dominated by multiple Crow warriors on horseback, reflect upon a battle in which the Crow are seen counting coup, raiding horses, and engaging in combat with several outnumbered Sioux warriors.

At a later point in its life, the robe was ultimately trimmed to its current squared shape, likely to be used as a carriage lap blanket; the edges show evidence that it had been bound with a red wool cloth, which has since disappeared with time.

height 58 inches x width 71 inches 

Although the combination of the sunburst pattern with exploit scenes is extremely unusual, there are several known examples of differing tribal origins. Including:

The Máto Topé (Four Bears) Mandan Robe, c. 1832, at the Bern Historical Museum in Switzerland. Visions of the People. p. 190-191, fig. 148

A robe identified as Ute c. 1875-1880 at the Kansas City Museum of History and Science. Pictured in Sacred Circles: Two Thousand Years of North American Indian Art; cover and p. 185, f. 488

Although not an exploit scene, an unidentified robe at The American Museum of Natural History (dept. 50.1, cat. #7648) combines the sunburst pattern with pictographic imagery of power, including horses, thunderbirds, turtles, and dragonflies. (https://digitalcollections.amnh.org/asset-management/2URM1TH73F7P?&WS=SearchResults) 

PUBLISHED:
Schlick, Mary and Bonnie Kahn, Keeping the Spirit Alive: American Indian Art from the Dr. and Mrs. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Collection (Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society Press, 2001: p. 8-9)

Craig Bates, et al., The Cheyenne/Arapaho Ledger Book from the Pamplin Collection (Portland, OR: Dr Robert Pamplin Jr, 2003: p. 6)

This lot is located in Cincinnati.