Cheyenne Beaded Buffalo Hide Possible Bag Pair

$15,500.00

Cheyenne, northern Plains

1870s

Native tanned buffalo hide, glass beads, sinew

Dimensions to be confirmed

Provenance: The Stella Foote Collection of Western Artifacts, "Treasures of the West"; Butterfield and Butterfield, March 18, 1988

Possible bags were among the most important prestige objects produced by Cheyenne women, used to store personal belongings and carried as expressions of the maker's skill, social standing, and artistic tradition. Fully beaded possible bags of the 1870s represent the height of Cheyenne beadwork production, a period in which the geometric vocabulary of the tradition was deployed with exceptional technical control across large flat surfaces. Pairs of matching bags are among the most ambitious expressions of this tradition, requiring the maker to sustain consistent design and bead placement across two separate objects.

This pair is fully beaded in the Cheyenne geometric tradition on a white ground with bold polychrome diamond and stepped motifs, sinew-sewn on native tanned buffalo hide with fringe and tin cone attachments. The sustained precision of the beadwork across both bags reflects a high level of technical accomplishment, where geometric design carried cultural meaning as well as aesthetic purpose. The buffalo hide ground, native tanned to a supple finish, is consistent with Plains beadwork production of the 1870s before commercial hide became widely available.

The Stella Foote collection, assembled over decades as part of the "Last Stand Museum" in Billings, Montana, was one of the most significant private collections of Western Americana and Plains Indian material ever offered at auction. The Butterfield and Butterfield sale of March 18, 1988 drew international buyers and pushed the total over half a million dollars, placing it among the landmark sales of Plains Indian material in the 20th century. This pair is sold together and represents a rare opportunity to acquire a matched set of this quality with documented major collection provenance.

We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.

Cheyenne, northern Plains

1870s

Native tanned buffalo hide, glass beads, sinew

Dimensions to be confirmed

Provenance: The Stella Foote Collection of Western Artifacts, "Treasures of the West"; Butterfield and Butterfield, March 18, 1988

Possible bags were among the most important prestige objects produced by Cheyenne women, used to store personal belongings and carried as expressions of the maker's skill, social standing, and artistic tradition. Fully beaded possible bags of the 1870s represent the height of Cheyenne beadwork production, a period in which the geometric vocabulary of the tradition was deployed with exceptional technical control across large flat surfaces. Pairs of matching bags are among the most ambitious expressions of this tradition, requiring the maker to sustain consistent design and bead placement across two separate objects.

This pair is fully beaded in the Cheyenne geometric tradition on a white ground with bold polychrome diamond and stepped motifs, sinew-sewn on native tanned buffalo hide with fringe and tin cone attachments. The sustained precision of the beadwork across both bags reflects a high level of technical accomplishment, where geometric design carried cultural meaning as well as aesthetic purpose. The buffalo hide ground, native tanned to a supple finish, is consistent with Plains beadwork production of the 1870s before commercial hide became widely available.

The Stella Foote collection, assembled over decades as part of the "Last Stand Museum" in Billings, Montana, was one of the most significant private collections of Western Americana and Plains Indian material ever offered at auction. The Butterfield and Butterfield sale of March 18, 1988 drew international buyers and pushed the total over half a million dollars, placing it among the landmark sales of Plains Indian material in the 20th century. This pair is sold together and represents a rare opportunity to acquire a matched set of this quality with documented major collection provenance.

We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.