1880
Buffalo hide, glass beads, sinew sewn
Length 9 1/2 inches, drop 17 1/2 inches
Provenance: Private collection, Bozeman, Montana
A Gros Ventre knife sheath of buffalo hide, fully beaded in the lane stitch and sewn with sinew, dating to 1880. The light blue ground carries a column of stepped geometric figures in red, dark green, and yellow, the patterning typical of northern Plains beadwork. Tin cone danglers hang from a hide fringe at the throat, and the original trade knife, with a worn steel blade and a wood handle, is included.
Beaded knife sheaths of this kind were worn at the belt and carried both utility and prestige among the Gros Ventre and neighboring peoples of the Montana plains. The sinew sewn lane stitch and the blue ground with stepped geometric devices are consistent with northern Plains work of the period. Provenance traces to a private collection in Bozeman, Montana.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
1880
Buffalo hide, glass beads, sinew sewn
Length 9 1/2 inches, drop 17 1/2 inches
Provenance: Private collection, Bozeman, Montana
A Gros Ventre knife sheath of buffalo hide, fully beaded in the lane stitch and sewn with sinew, dating to 1880. The light blue ground carries a column of stepped geometric figures in red, dark green, and yellow, the patterning typical of northern Plains beadwork. Tin cone danglers hang from a hide fringe at the throat, and the original trade knife, with a worn steel blade and a wood handle, is included.
Beaded knife sheaths of this kind were worn at the belt and carried both utility and prestige among the Gros Ventre and neighboring peoples of the Montana plains. The sinew sewn lane stitch and the blue ground with stepped geometric devices are consistent with northern Plains work of the period. Provenance traces to a private collection in Bozeman, Montana.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
