[NATIVE AMERICANA] c. 1890 A Southern Cheyenne Fully Beaded Hide Vest

Southern Plains, circa 1890.

A finely worked man’s vest of tanned hide, its front and back enveloped in white beadwork and ornamented with balanced compositions of green, dark blue, red, yellow, and light blue. The sleeveless, open-front garment has a gently sloping neckline and pointed lower front corners, with the warm brown hide visible on the interior. Closely arranged rows of beads impart a subtly ribbed texture to the surface, providing a luminous ground for the precisely articulated designs.

Each front panel bears a vertical arrangement of paired green diamonds outlined in yellow and dark blue, their centers marked by small white crosses. Slender blue extensions, branching red-and-green elements, and pendant angular devices elaborate these central forms. The composition is repeated twice across the back, establishing a visual correspondence between the two faces of the garment. Above, two five-pointed stars combine concentric passages of blue, red, and yellow with faceted steel beads, whose reflective surfaces introduce a distinctive metallic brilliance. A sequence of stepped triangular motifs and upright, flag-like elements follows the lower back edge.

The vest’s European-derived cut belongs to a garment form adopted by Plains communities during the later nineteenth century and transformed through Indigenous beadwork. Decorated vests became an important component of clothing worn for special occasions, providing a new setting for established artistic practices. Their significance lies in this capacity for adaptation: a familiar tailoring form became a vehicle for distinctly Native expressions of taste, skill, and identity.

The carefully spaced ornament and extensive white ground are particularly sympathetic to Cheyenne beadwork traditions. Cheyenne artists developed accomplished geometric compositions in which color, repetition, and the intervals between motifs were integral to the design. Beadwork, historically an important field of women’s artistic production, brought this attention to both garments and objects of daily life. In the example offered here, the generous spacing gives each motif unusual clarity, while the paired stars and patterned hem lend the back a distinct compositional identity.

A fine example of Southern Cheyenne beadwork, distinguished by its measured symmetry, expansive white ground, and striking use of reflective steel beads.

Dimensions: 18½ × 19½ inches, as recorded in the appraisal.

Provenance: Formerly the Cheramy Collection, Jackson, Wyoming; subsequently the Michael Goldberg Collection.

Documentation: A Morning Star Gallery appraisal signed by Henry C. Monahan, dated September 13, 2019, identifies the vest as Southern Cheyenne, circa 1890, and records its materials as Native-tanned hide, Venetian glass trade beads, and French steel beads.