A Sioux Beaded and Fringed Hide Child's Shirt

composed of hide, glass beads, and sinew.

Ralph Olson Collection

Acquired from Ilene and Bruce Johnson, Evergreen, CO

Very good original condition, typical wear.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Fully beaded boy's shirts are found in the Plains, the Plateau and the Southwest – the earliest known being a pony beaded Apache boy's shirt, dating ca. 1850. Typically serape or poncho style shirts, like this example, are formed of front and back panels with a V-neck and sleeves attached at the shoulders. Fringe is common at the sleeve ends and at the bottom edges of the shirt, and may also adorn the lower sleeve edges and sides. For related examples see Douglas C. Ewing, Pleasing the Spirits: A Catalog of a Collection of American Indian Art, Ghylen Press, New York, 1982, p. 189, fig. 174, for a Plains (Sioux) boy's shirt; Bruce Bernstein and Gerald McMaster, eds., First American Art: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection of American Indian Art, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, 2004, p. 220 for an Arapaho boy's shirt, and p. 255 for a Crow boy's shirt.