Anonymous gift in memory of Dr. Harlow Brooks

Undecorated leggings with side fringe.

No specific tribal designation, probably Plains This is made from commercially tanned cowhide, sinew sewn, with metal tinklers and glass beads.

This dress is composed of four sections of very white and pliable skin, probably employing at least two deer or caribou hides. Two large pieces of skin were sewn together to form the front and back of the dress and the upper edge of the skin is turned down as a long graceful flap to the waist. Two smaller pieces of skin are added to serve as shoulder straps. The entire dress, including the quillwork, is sewn together with thread. The seams that join the two major sections are fringed. Fringe near the shoulder is clipped very short so that it appears "pinked" and the fringe at the bottom of the dress is wrapped with orange and blue porcupine quills. The decoration of the shoulder straps is somewhat unusual as it differs from front to back. Scallops terminate the straps on the dress' front' while fringes decorate the shorter ends of the straps at the back. The straps are also decorated with a row of tiny black beads that edge the sides of these straps and surround the three scalloped lobes on each. Pairs of black beads in a double row decorate the section of the strap that intersects with the low neck line. Each scalloped portion of the straps is also ornamented, right and left, with bows made of hide strips wrapped at intervals with orange and light blue quills. Similar string-like ornaments are also attached at the proper right side of the front flap and the proper left side on the black flap. Quillwork strips across the body of the dress are in green, black, brown, white, reddish orange and light blue. Black seed beads and blue pony beads are applied as a scalloped border on an added piece of skin near the hem of the dress and tin cones are suspended in pairs from the apex of each of these beaded curves by thin hide strands wrapped at intervals with orange quills. See Jarvis report in Arts of Americas files.

Dick S. Ramsay Fund

The sheath is made of a folded piece of rawhide with quill work embroidery along the edge in alternating lengths of red, blue, black and yellow. A piece of soft buckskin is wrapped around the top as a panel or cuff. The added piece is decorated with quillwork; a white field with alternating triangles of blue and black, underlined with orange (formerly red?) arranged in rows. The top and bottom of this cuff are decorated with narrow borders composed of red and white triangles. The entire pattern is outlined with a thin blue line. The narrow borders continue part way around to the back of the sheath, but the quill work pattern does not. Tin cones dangle from the top two corners of the sheath from hide thongs wrapped with red and blue quills and from the bottom of the cuff on thongs wrapped with red quills. These thongs are threaded through the tin cones to form decorative loops that protect their ends. There is a native repair on the reverse side of the sheath.

Bequest of W.S. Morton Mead

Bequest of W.S. Morton Mead

Doll with horsehair braids decorated with blue and white streamers. Buckskin dress with a green, white, blue, and red belt with buckskin boots. Lovely big feet where the beadworker probably used left over beads as they are many colors. She wears long, dangling beaded earings.

This fringe is made from a partially tanned strip of buffalo hide that is wrapped at the top with bird quills. Several lines of this quill wrapped fringe combine to form repeated blocks of color. Usually quillwork comes down longer. The top of the quilled section has a row of white beads that resemble olivella shells.Usually quillwork comes down longer.From left to right the blocks are: blue, black, and brown (perhaps once orange) repeated in sequence. .The shell beads are unusual and the porcupine quill and white beads come from over in the Minnesota area. It is too wide for a pipe bag. Possibly Mandan-Hidatsa area or Sioux.