Man's Shirt
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This garment is a later version of a war shirt made in the mid-1800s by a Piegan-Blackfeet named Big Plume. He wore his shirt during several successful horse raids and battles with Crow Indians, and the piece became renowned for its protective power. Big Plume subsequently gave another warrior the right to make a copy of his special shirt, and this transfer of rights occurred many times. Although Three Calf received the right to produce this copy sometime in the early twentieth-century, he was not the sole maker. A woman beaded the triangular forms placed on the shoulders as well as the long neck lap.
Artwork Details
- Title: Man's Shirt
- Date: Early 20th century
- Geography: United States, Montana
- Culture: Blackfeet
- Medium: Native-tanned leather, glass beads, pigment, ermine
- Dimensions: Length: 36 in. (91.4 cm)
Width: 63 in. (160 cm) - Classification: Hide-Costumes
- Credit Line: Denver Art Museum (1938.202)
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing