A Crow Beaded Hide Bandolier Bag

composed of hide, wool cloth, glass beads, sinew, and brass bells.

By family descent to Myrna Williams
Acquired by Duane Alderman in 1996 from the above
Ilene and Bruce Johnson, Evergreen, CO

Very good original condition, typical wear for age and minor bead loss.
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.

See Sotheby's, New York, June 4, 1997, lot 78, for a related bandolier formerly in the Wellman Collection. For a discussion of Crow bandolier bags, Barbara Loeb, "Mirror Bags and Bandoleer Bags: A Comparison," American Indian Art Magazine, Volume 6, Number 1, Winter, 1980, pp. 46-51: "Precisely who made the spectacular Crow-style beadwork that was so prominent among the Crow, Plateau and Great Basin people between 1870 and the 1930's? While one theory is that the beadwork all came from the Crow and was dispersed through trade and gifts, an opposing theory speculates that the style itself encompassed the area from the Northern Plains almost to the Pacific Coast and was actively produced by many Crow, Plateau and Great Basin people... Bandoleer bags or men's shoulder bags consist of a wide shoulder strap, a solidly beaded rectangular pouch and a large red or blue wool dropper. While the bags are frequently exhibited and published, the number of existing bags is surprisingly small. A search of museum and private collections all over the country has so far uncovered only seventeen examples...The earliest known record of a bandoleer bag is a photograph taken by E.D.E. Weed in 1867...Numerous other bandoleer bags exist in both studio photographs and photographs of state occasions throughout the 1870's and 1880's...Most of these show men wearing the bags with the wide straps crossing their chest from their left shoulders with the pouch and dropper suspended at their right hips."; also see Glenn E. Markoe, Vestiges of a Proud Nation, Burlington, 1986, p. 155, cat. no. 84. This work is Cayuse.