Apache moccasins have numerous unique features which make them almost a object-type unto their own. Their thick buffalo up-turned soles, their vibrant use of color, their superior hide tanning - each are features which have historically made Apache moccasins some of the most sought after forms in American Indian Art.

This pair is making its debut in the market. The simple inclusion of floating circles - a traditional Apache design motif that perhaps has cosmological significance - throughout the vamps and quarters demonstrate Apache artwork at its finest .

10.5” long

#50998

Southern Plains quivers had a ubiquitous look that was favored by the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, Southern Arapaho, Kiowa-Apache and Plains Apache in the third quarter of the 19th century. The style included a bow case and quiver set that was typically fashioned from horse, cow, mountain lion and otter.

Warriors looked at these highly ornamented sets as status symbols, demonstrative of a wearer’s wealth and military prowess. As such, one can see these sets proudly featured in ledger drawings from the 1870s, when these quivers reached the height of their popularity.

The quiver set presented here is likely made from cow, possibly longhorn. Herds of longhorn would have populated ranches in Texas and Oklahoma - the raiding territories of the Southern Plains tribes.

46” long (bowcase) and 31” long (quiver); 53” tall and 48” wide overall, as displayed.

Ex Dr. Robert Pamplin Jr, OR

#51018

Blanket strips evolved out of a need to cover up unsightly seams which existed on buffalo robes - a necessary consequence of the brain-tanning process. Blanket strips were worn throughout the Plains, particularly in the North and Central Plains.

This strip is an unusual example. The conservative colors scheme, the immense width of the strip, along with its wide unsecured rows of beadwork and buffalo backing, suggest an earlier date. The arrangement of the rosettes and rectilinear panels, meanwhile echo design trends that were favored in the TransMontaigne and Plateau regions.

These observations are confirmed by the fact that this important and unusual artwork was found in an Idaho estate, where it had reportedly resided for generations. This presentation marks this blanket strip’s debut on the market. In the parlance of the field, this subdued but visceral artwork is “fresh to the field”.

65” long and 8.5” wide

#50973

There is a longstanding tradition on the Plains of grandparents and parents lovingly fashioning toys and clothing for their children. In the case of dolls, women carefully rendered miniatures of males and females dressed in the tribe’s finest attire, often using remnants from larger projects for accuracy.

Not only did these dolls convey the often robust gender roles that existed within many Plains tribes, but they also communicated the social standing of the respective family. Girls would play and interact with their dolls as they contemplated womanhood, and their future role within the tribe.

10” tall

Ex Dr. Robert Pamplin Jr., OR

#51060

This boat-shaped buffalo parfleche is sometimes referred to as a “canoe”, but more properly as a flat case. Such cases were paired with squarer fringed parfleche and suspended on saddles. Some scholars have suggests that Crow artists used these parfleche to house personal medicine.

While there are no longer any remaining contents in this flat case, there is an accompanying card which indicates that the parfleche was gifted to H. D. Schultz (1882-1954) by a Crow family. He and his wife Sarah served as missionaries to the Crow in Montana in the early 20th century when such bequeathals were common.

The case’s buffalo hide construction, as well as its very simple design and use of natural pigment all indicated that this case is earlier than most surviving Crow examples. This dating is reinforced by the accompanying collection hard, in which “Mrs. H. D. Schultz” affirms that the bag had belonged to the Crow family “for many generations” prior to its gifting.

Even though the Crow were prolific makers of parfleche in the late 19th century, regrettably not many surviving examples predate the 1870s. Fewer still have accompanying provenance.

8” tall and 13” wide

Collected by H. D. Schulz (1882-1954); handed to by descent; ex Charlene and Erik Lee, OR; ex Stephen Johnston, OH.

#50896

Prior to the arrival of repeating rifles and cartridges in the late 1860s, the muzzle-loader rifle was one of the principle fire arms used on the frontier. “Shot Pouches”, as they are popularly called today, became commonplace in order to safely house the accoutrement that came with such a weapon.

Indians throughout North America quickly engineered their own shot pouches, which typically included a shoulder strap, a carrying case for balls and a powder horn for gun powder. These carriers became central to the indigenous warrior complex, even well after the repeating rifle rendered them functionally obsolete.

The bag here speaks to the cultural melting pot of Southwest region. The strap is made from buffalo, which would have been procured on the Plains, while the bag is constructed from traded commercial leather and metal, manufactured to a style consistent with examples collected from the Navajo, Ute and Pueblo groups. While the marriage of these historic parts was recent, the parts are undoubtedly contemporaneous with one another. Early photos of the Ute and Apache suggest that such shot pouches were popularly worn between the 1860s and 1880s.

27” long and 16” wide; accompanied by a custom stand.

Ex Jay Evetts, NM (pouch); ex Robert Vandenberg, NM

#50972

Commercial saddle leather was a popular trade commodity throughout the indigenous Great Plains. Combined with brass furniture tacks, Plains artists created a robust and new genre of design which forever impacted object forms like strike-a-lites, dispatch bags and knife sheaths.

In the case of the latter, commercial leather could better support larger and more cumbersome trade knifes. Northern Plains artists, it seems, consequently tailored their commercial leather sheaths to mimic their native-tanned hide predecessors. The standard Northern form consists of a top panel, an interior liner, a mid-body cut-out for a belt loop, as well as tacks where traditionally there would have been beadwork.

The sheath featured here is an exceptional example of this conversion, although it does have some atypical construction features, including a embroidered seem which runs along the straight edge of the sheath. This is typically folded leather in the case of most extant examples. There are also examples of engraved designs on the backside.

13” tall and 5” wide

Ex Trotta-Bono, NM

#51030

This slightly diminutive cradle is likely a rare “newborn” cradle. The inclusion of piece of wood at the foot of the cradle as well as painted boards, meanwhile, indicate that the cradle is probably of Comanche origin. Cradles such as these were loving collaborations between grandparents and parents. Men typically prepared the boards while women painstakingly produced the hides and beadwork. The minimal decoration speaks to an earlier generation of cradle, one that was intended for everyday use.

35” tall and 1.5” wide (overall); 23.5 tall and 8” wide (bodice)

#51087

The dew claw rattle is thought to be an ancient form. Adopted by proto-historic Plains groups (1400-1750AD), the rattle’s basic unchanging form – a haft with dangling dew claw attachments – may have originated in Southern Plains or Southwest.

One of earliest detailed accounts of their use on the Plains, however, comes in the 1830s on the Upper Missouri River region. Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied (1782-1867) encountered a group of Mandan and Hidatsa “Dog Soldiers” near Fort Clark equipped with such rattles.

Several Plains tribes had Dog Societies. However, for the Cheyenne and Arapaho, who cultivated one the most revered and esteemed Dog societies, and from whom the most well-documented dew claw rattles have been collected, the instrument played a critical militaristic role.

Such Dog Soldier rattles from his period are rare. Many were collected early on and are accompanied by robust provenance and publication histories. One such example resides in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC (#E1925-0), collected in 1855 by Lt. Governor K. Warren and accessioned into the National Museum Natural History in 1859); and another can be found in the Museum für Völkerkunde, in Vienna, Austria (Inv. Nr. 163.382).

The rattle here also has a substantial collection history, having been first collected before 1889 and subsequently bequeathed to the Chicago Historical Society (Acc. # B-218-1H) from 1920-1977. This is truly a rare an important object.

26” long (overall); accompanied by a custom stand

Ex Charles Frederic Gunther, IL (likely collected before 1889); ex Chicago Historical Society, IL (collected 1920-1977, Acc. # B-218-1H); ex Arnold Marcus Chernoff, IL (collected 1977-1985); ex James Scoville, IL (collected 1985-2019).

Exhibited: 1889-1899, probably on display at the Libby Prison Museum, Chicago IL; 1899, possibly on display at the “Great American Expo Fair”, Omaha, NE

#50711

With the domestication of the Spanish mustang on the Plains, there arrived by consequence a need to develop gear that was well-suited for travel by horseback. Saddlebags proved vital storage for these nomadic groups, who often traveled large distances season to season. Women typically rode with them, securing them by the cantles of their respective saddles, carrying in them clothes and supplies for their nuclear families.

The exact origin of the saddle bag remains unknown. Plains and TransMontaigne Indians undoubtedly synthesized their horse gear from Spanish prototypes in the 17th and 18th centuries. However, by the 19th century, many tribes began making their own improved equestrian objects; ones that were better suited to nomadic life in the American West.

It is perhaps for this reason that one of the earliest known pair of saddle bags is attributed to the Southern Ute (Harvard University’s Peabody Collection, #985-27-10/59348). The Ute were important middlemen in early on in the TransMontaigne horse trade. Today, Ute saddle bags are among the most sought after, celebrated for their vibrant and visceral designs.

This pair is a new find in the market, having emerged from an estate outside of St. Louis.

48” tall and 14” wide

#51023

Extant moccasins which predate the 1870s are hard to find.

Pre1870s moccasins speak to a unique time on the Plains, when tribes begin to find their footing stylistically; artists begin to popularize color palettes, construction techniques and design motifs which become canon during the Reservation Period (1880-1920).

The moccasins here are a testament to this unique and exciting time in Central Plains indigenous art. Their use of a buffalo hide double welt become staples in Central Plains moccasin construction. The wide “lazy-stitch” lanes and the simple geometrics of the preceding pony bead generation (1780-1860), meanwhile, give way here to an explosion of color and designs that are now made possible by the recent of seed beads.

10” long

Ex Mike McGlinchey, PA (collected in the 1970s-2023); to Thomas Cleary, NM; to David Pusack, AZ.

#51034

Loop necklaces were popular in the Northern Plains and Plateau for affluent men in the closing decades of the 19th century. Worn by men, these necklaces had a fairly standard form, with small variations that conveyed the wealth of the wearer and region. from which he came

What makes this particular necklace unique is the materials used. The inclusion of a massive piece of abalone shell, and as well as threaded clamshell beads on the loops, speaks to the trade cross-roads that many Plateau and Crow Indians enjoyed.

Both shells would have been painstakingly imported in from the West Coast. The wearer of this necklace would have needed significant wealth in order to afford such exotic materials.

18” tall and 9” wide

Ex Paul Gray, NY; ex Robert Pamplin Jr, OR (1997-2025).

Published: Mary Schlick and Bonnie Kahn, Keeping the Spirit Alive: American Indian Art from the Dr. and Mrs. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Collection (Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society Press, 2001), p. 52.

#51044

Awls played in important role in beadwork production. Female artists artists utilized them for tying knots and threading. Awls are ubiquitous throughout the Plains, made from wood, metal, antler, bone and whatever materials were readily available.

From the Eastern Plains, there survive noteworthy examples of steel pointed awls with intricately carved antler handles. Specimens from 1825-1875 represent some of finest sculpture on offer in Plains Art. Carefully carved, these awls exhibit a wide range of incised designs and carved effigies which would have not only beautiful to the eye, but ergonomic to the user.

The exquisitely carved example shown here has the accession number “A-2016” penned on its top. The awl was collected by ethnologist Clinton Hart Merriam (1855-1945), whose collection today forms an anchor in the Anthropology Museum at UC Davis. This awl was acquired from his heirs.

4.25” tall

Ex Clinton Hart Merriam, CA (1855-1945); handed down by descent; to Gary Spratt, CA (collected 1970s - 2025)

#51033

Apache bowmakers were among the most prolific on the Plains and in Southwest. Perhaps this stemmed from their limited access to guns. Whatever the case, the quiver sets became a preferred weapon of choice for Apache warriors.

This set was collected by George Cuneo (1852-1939), an early Denver-based collector whose collection today partly resides at the Denver Art Museum. An early photo of his study - now at the Denver Art Museum - may indeed show this exact quiver suspended from his wall.

This sets accompanying bow and arrow remnants all appear to be contemporaneous and original to the set. That the set was collected early on, and labeled as “Jicarilla” by Cuneo - a tribe to which Cuneo would have had close access from Denver - perhaps explains why the quiver set is in such superb condition.

39” long (bowcase); 25” long (quiver); 44” long (bow)

Ex George Cuneo, CO; ex Bob Gallegos, NM; ex H. Malcolm Grimmer, NM.

#51089

Crow knife cases are typically larger in format than those found from tribes further south. This particular format is often thought of as a woman’s sheath, based on photographic evidence. These sheaths encased the entire knife.

This example shows a great example of native repair on the backside in which a new insert was introduced to perhaps replace rotten leather.

11” long and 3.75” wide

Ex John Molloy, NY

#51004

This native-tanned buffalo bag is a classic examples of indigenous recycling. The bag likely started off its life as a part of a larger bandolier bag. However, the extermination of the buffalo herds by the mid-1870s made the supply of preferred buffalo hide scarce, thereby forcing Plains artists to be industrious in reusing that which was available when items got damaged. This bag - as evidenced by its aged straps on its backside - was clearly reconfigured for its hide and beautiful artwork.

Ex David Pusack, AZ

9.5” tall and 7” wide

#51035

Quirts, or horse whips, are undoubtedly among the most important items in Plains warrior culture. A quirt was the instrument by which men counted coup, among other things. As such, they feature prominently in early warrior iconography for denoting military prowess and bravery. This connection encouraged several warriors to carefully construct and decorate their respective quirts.

As of this writing, I know of only two fully tacked antler quirts in private collections. The example shown here still has its original lash and wrist strap. Merchants imported these furniture tacks onto the frontier, not immediately realizing their appeal to Plains Indians. The antler on this quirt was painstakingly shaped into a hexagonal form so that it could accommodate rows of tacks. The artist spared no expense in carefully braiding is accompanying lash as well.

Attributing an exact tribe for this exceptional quirt is challenging. That this quirt first emerged out of an old collection in Germany provides little help, although it certainly adds to the quirt’s mystique. That said, the inclusion of the quirts original Stroud floral beaded strap might indicate that it originated from the Northern Plains.

9.75" long (quirt) and 20" long (lash); accompanied by a custom stand.

Private collection, GERMANY; to Marty Ingham, MT; to Douglas Deihl, MA.

#50993

Moccasins, perhaps more than any other object-type produced on the Great Plains, best demonstrate stylistic diversity. So compelling is this pair that they were exhibited at the Philbrook Art Center. These soft-soled moccasins show a complexity of design that was a hallmark of Reservation Period (1880-1920) beadwork on the Northern Plains.

9.75” long

Ex Philbrook Art Center, OK (PAC, ALD., D-16); ex Bruce Vandlandingham, MT; ex Mark Miller, MT.

Published: Jesse Wright, et al, Native American Art at Philbrook (Tulsa, OK: Philbrook Arts Center, 1980), p. 60.

Exhibited: “Native American Art at Philbrook”, Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, OK (Aug. 17-Sep. 21, 1980)

#50970

Knife sheaths, alongside moccasins, perhaps best demonstrate “tribal style” over many other object types. This sheath reveals many of the character attributes which are celebrated in 1870s-period Sioux beadwork. Reinforcing this attribution was a piece of old newspaper indicating that the sheath was collected at Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

9.75” tall and 2.5 wide (not incl. drop)

Ex Bob Coronado, WY

#50989

A pair of incredibly supple moccasins that are in superb condition. A series of inscriptions on one of the soles indicates that this pair was collected in “Shawnee, Oklah. in 1900” and that the pair was made by a “Cheyenne” artist. This pair has all of the hallmarks of Southern Cheyenne artistry and ingenuity, including classic bead colors, vibrant pigment dying and long heal fringe.

10.5” long (each); 10” long heel fringe.

#51083

It is well known that warriors of the Great Plains adopted rigorous grooming practices. Alongside mirrors and paint bags, tweezers played a critical role in making Plains warriors look their best. Tweezers appear to have been particularly prevalent in the Southern Plains and Southwest, where men removed unwanted facial hair, including their eyebrows.

Consequently, Southern Plains tweezers are today celebrated for their ornateness. This particular tweezer set is accented with an unusual configuration of alternating brass springs and beads. These costly items would have been painstakingly traded for in order to create this elaborately decorated implement.

11.5” long

#51084

Pre1870 Southern Plains objects are exceedingly rare to find. This pair of moccasins represents a rare example from the Plains Apache. The minimal beadwork, early bead colors and peach pigment are all highly sought after traits for objects originating from this region.

This particular pair has had an illustrious career. Published in Wooley’s “Eye of the Angel”, this pair eventually came into the personal collection of David West, a noteworthy Arizona-based dealer who handled some of the greatest Apache objects to come to market.

10 1/4" long

Ex Robert Vandenberg, NM; to Charles Derby, MA; ex David West, AZ; to Brad Mighton, CANADA; to private collection, CANADA; to David West, AZ (collected 2016-2021).

Published: David Wooley ed., Eye of the Angel: Selections from the Derby Collection (Northampton, MA: White Star Press, 1990), p.103; Richard Green, "Pointed Toe & Cactus Kickers: An Introduction to Apache Moccasins" Whispering Wind. Vol 45. No 5 (2017): 11.

#51088

Strike-a-lites were all-purpose containers that were particularly popular in the Southern Plains. As the name implies, they often housed horse-shoe shaped metal strikers for the purposes of lighting fires. In truth, these bags also functioned as repair kits, spare parts bags as well as sewing kits for both men and woman.

Constructed out of commercial leather, the strike-a-lite here is decorated with an atypical color palette which might indicate a Southern Cheyenne or Southern Arapaho attribution.

14".5” long and 3.5” wide (overall)

#50480

Beaded knife sheaths become infinitely more ornate with the onset of the Reservation Period (1880-1920). For many, this is a time when Sioux beadwork reaches its apex: when items become fully beaded in elaborate and colorful compisitions.

The sheath featured here is beaded on both sides in classic Sioux colors - blue, yellow and red. With pairs of tin cones running up both sides of the sheath, the original wearer was assuredly making a statement with this design.

9.75” tall and 2.75” wide (not incl. belt loop or drop)

Ex Carrol Morton, WA (d. 1984); ex Bruce Johnson, CO

#51003