Man's Leggings

ca. 1850

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

Whole antelope skins serve as the foundation for these leggings made by a female artist, and the animal’s hind legs function as belt ties. Broad strips of blue pony beads, finely cut fringe, and yellow-dyed horsehair ornament the skins. To symbolize his military honors, the owner drew depictions of human hands—four on each side flap. These leggings probably came from Chief Little Thunder’s band of Teton Lakota. In 1855 the U.S. army attacked the band’s camp on Blue Water Creek along the Oregon Trail in Nebraska.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Man's Leggings
Date: ca. 1850
Geography: United States, North or South Dakota
Culture: Lakota (Teton Sioux)
Medium: Native-tanned leather, glass beads, pigment, wool cloth, horsehair
Dimensions: Length: 31 1/2 in. (80 cm)
Classification: Hide-Costumes
Credit Line: National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Department of Anthropology (E1953-0)
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing