Feather Headdress

ca. 1925

Not on view

Returned to lender

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

Decorative elements on this double-trailer bonnet illustrate the evolution of the eagle feather headdress. Association with warfare is gone. Instead of the traditional horsehair at the tips of the feathers, white- and rose-colored downy fluff has been added. In place of depictions of spirit helpers, culturally important symbols, such as the pipe and the mythic creature Turtle, are painted on the trailer. Feathered headdresses persist in modern times as universally recognized symbols of leadership and also as stereotypes of all Native peoples.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Feather Headdress
Date: ca. 1925
Geography: United States, North or South Dakota
Culture: Lakota (Teton Sioux)
Medium: Eagle feathers, native-tanned leather, glass beads, pigment, wool cloth, metal cones, porcupine quills, horsehair, silk ribbon, otter and ermine skin
Dimensions: Length: 90 1/2 in. (229.9 cm)
Classification: Feathers-Costumes
Credit Line: Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming, Catherine Bradford Collection, Gift of the Coe Foundation (NA.205.14.ab)
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing