Crow, northern Plains
1880
Rawhide, natural pigments
Height 22" (55.9 cm); width 11" (27.9 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Lancaster, PA
Parfleche packets were essential storage objects in Crow domestic life, the painted rawhide construction providing a durable and lightweight container for food, clothing, and personal possessions during travel and camp life. Crow parfleche painting is characterized by a bold geometric vocabulary in which diamond, triangle, and rectangular forms are arranged in compositions that cover the full face of the folded packet, the designs specific to the Crow tradition and distinguishable from the parfleche painting of neighboring Plains groups. Objects with the deep patina of sustained use carry a historical authenticity that distinguishes them from pieces that passed quickly into collections without serving their intended domestic function.
This packet is painted with a polychrome geometric composition featuring central diamond and rectangular forms in red, yellow, green, and blue outlined in darker pigment, the rawhide surface developed to a warm amber tone through age and use. The condition reflects a packet that served an active domestic life before entering the Pennsylvania collection, the patina consistent with decades of handling in a Crow household. Provenance traces to a private collection in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Crow, northern Plains
1880
Rawhide, natural pigments
Height 22" (55.9 cm); width 11" (27.9 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Lancaster, PA
Parfleche packets were essential storage objects in Crow domestic life, the painted rawhide construction providing a durable and lightweight container for food, clothing, and personal possessions during travel and camp life. Crow parfleche painting is characterized by a bold geometric vocabulary in which diamond, triangle, and rectangular forms are arranged in compositions that cover the full face of the folded packet, the designs specific to the Crow tradition and distinguishable from the parfleche painting of neighboring Plains groups. Objects with the deep patina of sustained use carry a historical authenticity that distinguishes them from pieces that passed quickly into collections without serving their intended domestic function.
This packet is painted with a polychrome geometric composition featuring central diamond and rectangular forms in red, yellow, green, and blue outlined in darker pigment, the rawhide surface developed to a warm amber tone through age and use. The condition reflects a packet that served an active domestic life before entering the Pennsylvania collection, the patina consistent with decades of handling in a Crow household. Provenance traces to a private collection in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
