Sioux Moccasin, beaded

Sioux Moccasin, beaded

Sioux Moccasin, beaded

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Introduction

This pair of beaded buckskin moccasins adorned with images of American flags and crosses, both geometric and Roman, are a part of the collection donated by The Engel family. They can be dated to the late 19th early 20th century and are now at the Pomona College Museum of Art. Based on the construction and style they were probably made by the Sioux tribe in the plains region.

Nation of Maker: Sioux
Nation of Origin

Catalog card attributes locality to Sioux

Date Made or Date Range: 19uu/20uu
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

Based on museum documentation and individual research.

Materials

Buckskin, copper tin cones, glass beads,

Techniques or Format

Stiff soles with completely beaded uppers. Sewn together where the sole meets the upper and at the heel. Beading was most likely done using, "the lazy stitch."

Motifs and Patterns

American Flags, Roman crosses, geometric crosses, pyramidal shapes, geometric diamond border.

Additional Context

The beaded flags on the moccasins, although not exact replicas, are recognizably American. The crosses are both geometric and Roman representing a hybrid of Native and European cultures.

Other Notes

This pair of buckskin moccasins would have reached just below the wearer’s ankle and a tongue-type flap rests over the top of the moccasins mimicking the triangle shapes that are found elsewhere on the design. The moccasins are almost completely covered in straight lines of pristine bead work. The beads are primarily a sky blue color interrupted only for three triangles on each shoe, which support either an American flag or a cross. Around the border of the moccasins there is a diamond shaped pattern bracketed by blue, green, and red lines of bead work in a geometric pattern. The focal point of the shoes are the large crosses that seem to grow out of a triangle design and face the wearer and the two outward facing flags on each shoe creating a sort of pyramidal design of American and religious iconography.

Dimensions: 27 × 12 × 10 cm
Condition: Overall good. Missing some beads from the top, seam at the heels has broken open. Soles show wear.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Moccasins with similar iconography have been documented as being produced between the late 19th and early 20th century by Toby Herbst and Joel Kopp in their 1993 exhibition, "The Flag in American Art."

Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: P2072
Link to Institution's Collections Database: www.pomona.edu
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: The Engle Family
Collection Narratives and Histories

In the collection of the Pomona College Museum of Art

Exhibition History

"Ways of Seeing/Exhibiting American Indian Art: The Pomona College Collection," Montgomery Gallery, 1/19-3/20/94.

GKS Reference Number: 1517
How to Cite this Item

This item can be sited by catalog number and institution.

Record Creation Context

Created as an assignment in ARHIS139 Seminar in Native American Arts Spring 2012 at Pitzer College.

Approximate Place of Origin

46.2, -90.9

Source of Information about Places

Catalog card attributes culture to Plains.