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Shown is part of a beaded woman’s buckskin dress. The curvature of the 6 beaded rows on top indicates clothing made for a woman. Also, the oval beaded center piece is a stylized turtle, a symbol of long life and health particularly for women who would often save the umbilical cord of a newborn in a turtle-shaped beaded pouch. The stylized turtle rim as well as the 6 curved upper rows contain the 4 primal colors white, red, yellow and black.
These colors are associated with the 4 directions, the 4 “tribes” (ethnic groups) of man, the 4 aspects of one’s personality and the 4 stages in one’s life.
The piece would have been made after 1850, because before then blue beads were not yet available. Yellow is associated with the East, but also with Mother Earth, while blue alludes to both the sky as well as water, both of which are in abundance in the Dakotas where Sioux have lived and still live. |
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The hide part features a quilled pipe and white buffalo head. Quilling is “sewing” with flattened porcupine quills and the pipe and buffalo head correctly show some of the possible stitches.
The pipe is the most integral part of any Northern Plains tribe, clan, family and individual. It is sacred and according to Sioux lore was brought to man by a young maiden descending from the sky in form of a white buffalo, the most sacred of all animals. With this pipe “White Buffalo Calf Woman” also brought instructions regarding the 7 sacred ceremonies to be kept. The pipe stem features 7 red stitches. The pipe head or bowl is always red,
alluding to the female element in all creation. Hanging from the pipe is a stylized eagle feather, a bird revered for its keen (in)sight and as a winged creature revered for its closer connection to the Creator. The color white is associated with the north as well as old age with corresponding ability to “see” beyond, sagacity, wisdom and increased closeness to the Creator.
While the colors and individual design elements are absolutely authentic, the overall design is mine and taken from multiple sources.
My intent was to tell a story which goes beyond the obvious. |