Cree-Métis, Red River Valley, Manitoba, Canada
Early 19th century, acquired 1832
Tanned deerskin, dyed porcupine quills, trade beads, cast brass button
Length 41" (104 cm)
Provenance: Collected before or during the 1832 Black Hawk War by Zachary Taylor, twelfth President of the United States; given to his son Richard Taylor; gifted by Richard Taylor to Professor James Luce Kingsley; descended in the Kingsley family until June 1931, when it was gifted to the New Haven Colony Historical Society
This Cree-Métis frockcoat was made in the Red River Valley, a major fur trade crossroads where Indigenous and European traditions converged in the early 19th century. Fashioned in the form of a Euro-American coat, it is constructed from tanned deerskin and decorated with dyed porcupine quillwork, trade beads, and a cast brass button. The floral and foliate quillwork reflects the distinctive Métis visual language that developed through the encounter between Native decorative traditions and imported European textiles.
The coat's provenance gives it an unusually direct connection to Zachary Taylor, who collected it before or during the 1832 Black Hawk War and later became the twelfth President of the United States. Its subsequent history through Richard Taylor, Professor James Luce Kingsley, and the New Haven Colony Historical Society provides a long documented chain of ownership. As a Native-made garment associated with a sitting president and the Black Hawk War period, it stands at the intersection of Cree-Métis artistry, Plains frontier history, and early American collecting.
The quillwork decoration is executed with consistent technical control across the full length of the coat, the dyed quills retaining color and adherence throughout. The cast brass button and trade beads are intact, and the tanned deerskin shows even aging consistent with the documented age of the piece. Few garments of this type survive with provenance of this specificity and length.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
INQUIRE HERE
Cree-Métis, Red River Valley, Manitoba, Canada
Early 19th century, acquired 1832
Tanned deerskin, dyed porcupine quills, trade beads, cast brass button
Length 41" (104 cm)
Provenance: Collected before or during the 1832 Black Hawk War by Zachary Taylor, twelfth President of the United States; given to his son Richard Taylor; gifted by Richard Taylor to Professor James Luce Kingsley; descended in the Kingsley family until June 1931, when it was gifted to the New Haven Colony Historical Society
This Cree-Métis frockcoat was made in the Red River Valley, a major fur trade crossroads where Indigenous and European traditions converged in the early 19th century. Fashioned in the form of a Euro-American coat, it is constructed from tanned deerskin and decorated with dyed porcupine quillwork, trade beads, and a cast brass button. The floral and foliate quillwork reflects the distinctive Métis visual language that developed through the encounter between Native decorative traditions and imported European textiles.
The coat's provenance gives it an unusually direct connection to Zachary Taylor, who collected it before or during the 1832 Black Hawk War and later became the twelfth President of the United States. Its subsequent history through Richard Taylor, Professor James Luce Kingsley, and the New Haven Colony Historical Society provides a long documented chain of ownership. As a Native-made garment associated with a sitting president and the Black Hawk War period, it stands at the intersection of Cree-Métis artistry, Plains frontier history, and early American collecting.
The quillwork decoration is executed with consistent technical control across the full length of the coat, the dyed quills retaining color and adherence throughout. The cast brass button and trade beads are intact, and the tanned deerskin shows even aging consistent with the documented age of the piece. Few garments of this type survive with provenance of this specificity and length.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
INQUIRE HERE
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