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Shield

He Nupa Wanica/ Joseph No Two Horns Hunkpapa Lakota/ Teton Sioux
ca. 1885
Not on view
After buffalo were hunted to near extinction in the late nineteenth century as part of the United States’ expansion tactics, Great Plains men transitioned from celebrating their feats of bravery with pictorial compositions on buffalo skins to using commercially available fabric and paper. The courageous warrior No Two Horns notably fought in the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn. Here, he portrays a bird with lightning or power emanating from its wings to protect the warrior. He also painted these powerful lines on his face and his horse’s body in self-portraits. Though he made later versions of this shield on muslin, this hide is a rare original.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Shield
  • Artist: He Nupa Wanica/ Joseph No Two Horns (Hunkpapa Lakota/ Teton Sioux, 1852–1942)
  • Date: ca. 1885
  • Geography: Made in Standing Rock Reservation, North Dakota, United States
  • Culture: Hunkpapa Lakota/ Teton Sioux, Native American
  • Medium: Tanned leather, pigment, wood, and feathers
  • Dimensions: 5/8 × 16 1/2 in. (1.6 × 41.9 cm)
  • Credit Line: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection of Native American Art, Gift of Charles and Valerie Diker, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.456.20
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Horse Effigy, He Nupa Wanica/ Joseph No Two Horns Hunkpapa Lakota/ Teton Sioux, Wood (possibly cottonwood), pigment, commercial and native-tanned leather, rawhide, horsehair, brass, iron, bird quill, Hunkpapa Lakota (Teton Sioux)
Returned to lender
Horse Effigy
He Nupa Wanica/ Joseph No Two Horns
ca. 1880
Eagle, William Rush American, Carved wood (probably Eastern white pine), gessoed and gilded, and cast iron, painted, American
Eagle
William Rush
1809–11
Pier Table, Joseph Meeks & Sons American, Mahogany veneer, mahogany; pine, ash (secondary woods); marble, glass, American
Pier Table
Joseph Meeks & Sons
1829–35
Easy chair, Mahogany, American
Easy chair
American
1810–15
Bookcase, Oak, pine, American
Bookcase
American
ca. 1855

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