Shield
Date1860-1868
MediumBuffalo rawhide, tanned buckskin, bells, feathers,corn husks, natural pigment.
Dimensions19 1/2 inches (49.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Detroit Scientific Association
Object number76.144
ClassificationsArms and Armor
Curator NotesA thunderbird, smaller birds, cresent shapes and a cluster of seven circles are painted on the shield in red and blue. There is a blue border. The original color of the now-faded background was black.
On View
On viewCollections
- Native American Minds of Colonial America Copy
Locations
- Exhibition Demo Museum (Hanover Square), Wing A, The Americas, Gallery 1
ProvenanceObtained by Custer at Battle of the Washita, Nov 27, 1868, when Little Rock was killed.
Transferred from Detroit Scientific Association to Institute of Arts.
Text EntriesThis shield probably belonged to Little Rock, a Cheyenne man who was killed at the Battle of the Washita in 1868. The power of the shield was evoked by its owner for spiritual and physical protection. The symbols and colors used on the shield present a complete picture of the spiritual world. The light circle at the edge is earth with peaks of mountains in the four directions; the crescent moon above and the group of seven circles representing the star cluster of the Pleiades are set against the blue sky, with four birds circling a larger Thunderbird.
From "A Visitor's Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts"
From "A Visitor's Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts"
Related information:
In Native American belief the universe is a sphere having the sky world above and the watery underworld below, with the terrestrial disk of the earth dividing them. THe earth is divided into four quardrants by the cardinar directions north, sourth, east, and west. The human task on earth is to keep the upper world and the underworld in balance.
The sky above is therealm of the powerful Thunderbird, whose eyse shoot out bolts of lightning and whose beating wings create thunder. The earth is the mother and procreator of life. In thewaters beneath the earth is the underworld.,where spirits also dwell. There are many symbols associated with each realm which can be seen on Native American works of art. These symbolshelp make the sources of spiritual power accessible on earth.
From "A Visitor's Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts", page 44.
In Native American belief the universe is a sphere having the sky world above and the watery underworld below, with the terrestrial disk of the earth dividing them. THe earth is divided into four quardrants by the cardinar directions north, sourth, east, and west. The human task on earth is to keep the upper world and the underworld in balance.
The sky above is therealm of the powerful Thunderbird, whose eyse shoot out bolts of lightning and whose beating wings create thunder. The earth is the mother and procreator of life. In thewaters beneath the earth is the underworld.,where spirits also dwell. There are many symbols associated with each realm which can be seen on Native American works of art. These symbolshelp make the sources of spiritual power accessible on earth.
From "A Visitor's Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts", page 44.
There are no works to discover for this record.