Detail View: The AMICA Library: Scalp Shirt
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AMICA ID:
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CMA_.1984.1046
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AMICA Library Year:
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2000
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Object Type:
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Costume and Jewelry
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Creator Nationality:
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North American; Native American; Sioux; Lakota
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Creator Name-CRT:
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America, Central Plains, Lakota Sioux
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Title:
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Scalp Shirt
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Title Type:
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Primary
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View:
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Full View
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Creation Date:
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c. 1890
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Creation Start Date:
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1885
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Creation End Date:
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1895
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Materials and Techniques:
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hide, pigment, glass beads, human hair
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Classification Term:
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Costume
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Classification Term:
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Costume
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Dimensions:
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Overall: 92.7cm
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AMICA Contributor:
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The Cleveland Museum of Art
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Owner Location:
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Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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ID Number:
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1984.1046
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Credit Line:
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Bequest of David S. McMillan
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Rights:
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Context:
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Scalp shirts are among the most spectacular garmets produced by the Plains Indians. Lakota Sioux scalp shirts were often painted blue or green on the upper half (to symbolize the sky) and yellow on the lower half (indicating the earth). The locks of hair attached to the shirt are not actually scalps. Instead they were usually donated by family members or friends. Each lock represents a war exploit performed by the shirt's owner. Additional ornamentation was provided by panels of Venetian glass beads, sewn to the leather with sinew thread. During the Reservation Period (after 1870) warfare ceased, and scalp shirts became items of formal or ceremonial attire.
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Related Image Identifier Link:
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CMA_.1984.1046.tif
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