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Pair of Parfleche Envelopes

ca. 1900–1910
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Nontraditional ornamentation embellishes this pair of rawhide parfleche containers. Although the envelopes display motifs found in painting, the artist did not use pigment. Instead, she stitched a layer of native-tanned leather to the face of each flap and beaded the designs. In the process, she transformed a functional artistic form into one intended for display.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Pair of Parfleche Envelopes
  • Date: ca. 1900–1910
  • Geography: United States, North or South Dakota
  • Culture: Lakota (Teton Sioux)
  • Medium: Rawhide, native-tanned leather, glass beads, porcupine quills, metal cones, horsehair
  • Dimensions: Length: 27 1/2 in. (69.9 cm)
    Width: 13 1/4 × 3 1/4 in. (33.7 × 8.3 cm)
  • Classifications: Hide-Containers, Beads-Containers
  • Credit Line: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Gift of Frank Paxton Jr. (2010.60.1,2)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing