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Quirt

ca. 1860
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Made from an elk’s antler, this handle of a quirt (riding whip) is gracefully sculpted. The carver used the antler’s natural curve to create the basic form and enhanced it with depictions of feathers, headdresses, and buffalo hooves, each filled with red or black paint. The object shows the beauty of small tools produced on the Eastern Plains in the 1800s. It originally had a wrist strap and held a heavy lash.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Quirt
  • Date: ca. 1860
  • Geography: United States, Iowa or Kansas
  • Culture: Eastern Plains, probably Meskwaki
  • Medium: Elk antler, pigment
  • Dimensions: Length: 15 in. (38.1 cm)
    Width: 2 in. (5 cm)
    Height: 2 3/8 in. (6 cm)
  • Classification: Horn-Implements
  • Credit Line: Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Diker (DAC513)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing