Shield with Abstract Imagery
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.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.
Artwork Details
- 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)
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing