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Shield with Abstract Imagery

ca. 1850

Not on view

This rawhide shield is distinguished by its abstract, visionary imagery. Although the precise meaning is unknown, it may evoke the Thunderbird, guardian of war. Between heavy marks, the central band is filled with green wavelike lines, while a single red diagonal bolt crosses the field of spiritual energy. In Plains paintings, wavy lines represent the transmission of spiritual power, and it is likely this is the meaning here. However, it seems that the warrior’s medicine may have failed him, as a bullet hole is visible in the shield’s upper left section.

Shield with Abstract Imagery, Buffalo rawhide, pigment, Crow — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Shield with Abstract Imagery

Date: ca. 1850

Geography: United States, Montana

Culture: Crow

Medium: Buffalo rawhide, pigment

Dimensions: Diameter: 22 in. (55.9 cm)

Classification: Hide-Implements

Credit Line: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Purchased from Ernest E. Murray (NA10719A)

Accession Number: SL.7.2015.44.1

The Met

The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met

The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.