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Arapaho Ochre Elk Hide Beaded Legging Moccasins
Arapaho, southern Plains
1880s
Ochre pigmented elk hide, glass beads, sinew
Height 16" (40.6 cm)
Provenance: Yoshi Miyake, New York
Legging moccasins were worn by women across the southern Plains as both practical footwear and ceremonial dress, the tall hide upper extending up the leg and decorated at the lower portion with beadwork bands that expressed the maker's skill and the wearer's social standing. The Arapaho beadwork tradition of the 1880s combined geometric patterning with a restrained palette, the designs placed in careful relationship to the construction seams and edges of the garment rather than distributed across the full surface. Ochre pigmentation of the elk hide, achieved through the application of iron-rich earth pigment during the tanning process, produces the warm golden tone characteristic of Arapaho and southern Plains hide preparation of the period.
This pair retains the tall ochre elk hide uppers with beaded lower panels in geometric block and rectangular motifs in blue, white, red, and dark tones, sinew-sewn throughout with the beadwork concentrated at the ankle and vamp. The ochre pigment is well preserved across both uppers, the hide supple and consistent in tone. Provenance traces to Yoshi Miyake of New York.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Arapaho, southern Plains
1880s
Ochre pigmented elk hide, glass beads, sinew
Height 16" (40.6 cm)
Provenance: Yoshi Miyake, New York
Legging moccasins were worn by women across the southern Plains as both practical footwear and ceremonial dress, the tall hide upper extending up the leg and decorated at the lower portion with beadwork bands that expressed the maker's skill and the wearer's social standing. The Arapaho beadwork tradition of the 1880s combined geometric patterning with a restrained palette, the designs placed in careful relationship to the construction seams and edges of the garment rather than distributed across the full surface. Ochre pigmentation of the elk hide, achieved through the application of iron-rich earth pigment during the tanning process, produces the warm golden tone characteristic of Arapaho and southern Plains hide preparation of the period.
This pair retains the tall ochre elk hide uppers with beaded lower panels in geometric block and rectangular motifs in blue, white, red, and dark tones, sinew-sewn throughout with the beadwork concentrated at the ankle and vamp. The ochre pigment is well preserved across both uppers, the hide supple and consistent in tone. Provenance traces to Yoshi Miyake of New York.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.