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ca. 1860’S – 1870’S EARLY SOUTHERN PLAINS –
POSSIBLY COMANCHE OR EASTERN APACHE – PAINTED BUFFALO
HIDE SHOULDER BAG – PARFLECHE STYLE WITH VIVID HEAVILY
PAINTED PANELS – BEAUTIFULLY AGED PIECE IN EXCELLENT
CONDITION: Discovered hanging in an out of the
way forgotten corner of a very old collection, this
early Southern Plains Shoulder Bag is a spectacular
example of the native painted art which was executed on
buffalo hide.
The very subtle differences in the tribal designs and
colors incorporated in painted hide pieces make
identifying a piece to a particular tribe a challenge.
That the origin of so many of these pieces was not
recorded at the time of acquisition has further
frustrated attempts to attribute surviving pieces to a
specific tribe.
Still, certain constants of characteristics, design
elements, and combinations of colors have been gleaned
from the artifacts for which acquisition records do
exist, and through comparison to these known specimens,
tentative identification of pieces such as this bag can
be made. Gaylord Torrance has provided an excellent
reference with the publication of his seminal work,
The American Indian Parfleche which provides
numerous examples of painted hide pieces from a wide
spectrum of the western tribes.
This Shoulder Bag appears to have originated with either
the Comanche or the Eastern Apache. The style of the
painting on this bag seems most consistent with known
specimens from both of these tribes. In particular, the
green claw-like stripes which accent the edges of the
elements emanating from the central red star on the flap
of this bag (see detail photo below) are very much like
similar claw-like elements on Comanche rawhide cases
featured in Torrance’s work. These claw-like elements
seem to be unique to Comanche pieces, and in some cases
they appear in Eastern Apache pieces, especially those
of the Jicarilla, Mescalero, and Lipan who were
regularly present on the Southern Plains and shared many
cultural traits with the Comanche.
From all appearances of the weight and grain of the hide
used to fashion this bag, I am quite certain it is
native tanned buffalo hide. The hide is as thick as you
would expect buffalo hide to be, and it is fairly stiff
– more so than the soft hides used for beaded tipi bags,
but not quite as hard as a classic parfleche. I suspect
that some of this stiffness is the result of the normal
aging process, but it is also possible that the hide was
never tanned “buckskin soft” in order that it provide a
heartier carrier to protect the contents from the
weather.
As you view the photographs below, you will note that
duplicate views of the entire length of the strap and
bag, and the isolated view of the body and flap of the
bag have been provided – one view of each which
highlights the colors of the paint, and a second view
which shows the bag as having a darkened brown hue. The
photos of the bag showing this darkened hue is how the
bag appears in natural light with no enhancement. This
darkening is the natural result of exposure to the
environmental affects of wood smoke, weather, and
storage. When viewed in person, the colors are plainly
visible, but in order for the photographs to show the
color and pattern of the hide painting I had to enhance
the light and contrast. So, in addition to the enhanced
photos, I included the two views which show the bag as
it appears in ambient light, and without any enhancement
in natural light, the painted design is plainly
legible.
This is a large bag, having an overall length of 38”
(including the strap) and the body of the bag -
measuring over 11” wide and 9” deep - was certainly
intended to carry a substantial load while away from the
home lodge or encampment. Perhaps a bag a warrior would
use for dried meat, extra moccasins or other necessities
when leaving on a hunting or raiding expedition.
The components of the bag consist of the carrying strap,
a two piece body – front and back, the covering flap
sewn to the top of the back panel, and a bottom trim
panel sewn into the bottom seam of the body. All of the
sewing is executed with thick sinew.
The painted sections include the outer surface of the
entire strap, the entire solid panel of the flap, and
the top of the decorative panel sewn into the bottom
seam of the body. The front and back panels of the body
of the bag are unpainted.
The strap is 21 ¼” long on each side of the top bend, is
¾” wide, and the two fringed decorative pieces on the
strap are 7” long.
The body of the bag is 11 ½” wide and 9” deep, is
fashioned from two pieces of hide, and is stitched
together on both sides and across the bottom.
Inserted into the bottom seam of the body is a painted
and fringed hide panel – the painted section is arched
to match the arch on the flap trim and measures 2” long
at the center and 3” long at the edges. The integral
fringe on this panel is 5” long at the center and 6”
long at the edges.
The cover flap is 12” wide, and consists of an upper
solid painted section and a lower integral fringed
section. The division between the solid panel and the
fringe is arched in the same manner as the panel below
the body of the bag. The painted section of the flap is
5” long at the center and 6” long at the edges and the
fringed section of the flap is likewise 5” in the center
and 6” long on the edges
Overall, the entire bag, strap and fringe included, is
in excellent condition with no excessive wear, no
damage, and no holes from use or wear. There is one
hole on the back panel of the bag which appears to have
been original to the skinning and tanning process and
which was plugged at the time the bag was made, as is so
often seen in other pieces requiring large sections of
hide.
Due to the normal wear and tear of daily living, the
nomadic life style led by the Plains Tribes, and the
devastatingly violent encounters with the U.S. Army and
the European settlers, the majority of the
pre-reservation material simply did not survive. While
some of these pre-reservation pieces were collected by
the early explorers and some was salvaged from captured
villages by officers and soldiers prior to putting the
remainder to the torch in accordance with the political
will of the country at that time, the majority of those
pieces now reside in museum collections and are not
available to the private collecting community.
At the same time, the buffalo herds were being hunted to
extinction by the commercial hunters, and eventually
this most necessary and basic of material – buffalo hide
– was no longer available to the Southern Plains
Peoples, eliminating their ability to replace those
pieces which wore out or were destroyed. Eventually,
this coincidence of circumstances resulted in making
early pieces such as this bag very rare on the
collector’s market.
This is a very special painted bag from the tribes who
inhabited the mid-19TH Century Southern
Plains and one that would be difficult to improve upon.
SOLD
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