Oglala Sioux Beaded and Fringed Hide War Shirt

of classic design, composed of two finely tanned deerskin hides, seamed across the top with a transverse neck opening, painted with yellow and blue pigments, sinew sewn on the front and back in numerous shades of tiny glass seed beads, with a radiant medallion, the shoulders and sleeves with hide strips sinew sewn in red, blue, and two shades of green against a white ground, with linear motifs, the bibs, in similar colors, with a split-panel design, trimmed with quill-wrapped hair pendants and silk ribbon in mustard yellow and deep green.

Chief Black Bird, Oglala Sioux

Collection of Amy Vanderbilt

Collection of Ed Vebell

Acquired from the above in 2007 by the present owners

Indian Spirit, Fitzgerald, 2003, cover and p. 68-69, archival photo, illustrated

A Warrior I Have Been, 2004, p. 43, archival photo, illustrated

Very good overall condition with typical wear for its age and use.
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.

Rarely does photographic documentation exist that links an important artifact and work of art to its original owner. In this case, there are at least four images of Chief Black Bird known to exist wearing this particular shirt, each of which is reproduced herein. These photos provide an invaluable glimpse into the history of the shirt and its owner.

In relative terms, much is known about this famous and celebrated Sioux Chief. Black Bird's name appears on p. 164 in the Crazy Horse Surrender Ledger (see Buecker and Paul, 1994, p. 158) which establishes him as a participant in the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, and likely participant at the Battle of Little Bighorn, June 25, 1876.

His name also appears in the Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1882-83 where he is listed as no. 240 in the Red Cloud census (see Powell, 1886, p.180).

Between the time of the Red Cloud census and the first known photograph, Chief Black Bird took a wife and had a son, Womboli. He is photographed in Omaha in 1899 wearing the shirt; this may be the first photo documenting the Chief wearing the shirt. The family eventually moved to the East Coast of the United States sometime after the time that photo was taken to participate in Colonel Cummings' Wild West Show on Coney Island. At that time, his wife, son and he sat for the famed sculptor A.A. Weinman. In written correspondence provided from the Director of Research and Rare Collections at The R.W. Norton Art Gallery, Weinman states: "I followed and did 'Blackbird' there. I have always considered him one of the most rugged of Indian types I have ever seen..."Blackbird' was the most silent, the most stoic, model I have ever had posing for me..." Weinman's earliest sculpture of Black Bird was completed in 1903 and has become one of the artist's most iconic works.

Black Bird participated in the Indian Congress, Pan American Exposition, 1901, and appears in a photo titled "Little Wound and Sioux Chief's" wearing the shirt. Chief Black Bird's name appears on the manifest for the ship St. Louis, arriving at Southhampton from New York, December 11, 1902. In England, he participated in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and he is again documented wearing the shirt in a promotional postcard for the show.

He returned to New York by 1903 where he participated in the "Indian Congress and Life on the Plains" exhibition at Madison Square Garden in New York. On September 18, 1903 the New York Times featured an article on the show stating: "This is the first time this picture of the wild West life has been seen in New York."

The date and place of Black Bird's death is unknown. The shirt eventually was acquired by Amy Vanderbilt, from whom Ed Vebell purchased it in 1960. Mr. Vebell, a celebrated and accomplished artist, is a World War Two veteran and was the courtroom artist for the Nuremburg War Crime Trials in 1945.

The shirt was acquired by the present owners in 2007 from Mr. Vebell.

For a related example and a discussion of the use of blue and yellow paint on Sioux shirts see Horse Capture and Horse Capture, 2001, p.44: "Among the Lakota, the Wicasa Yatapika, 'shirt wearers,' or head chiefs, were the only men who had the right to wear painted scalp shirts. Demonstrations of great sacrifice and bravery were required to earn this high rank in traditional Lakota society. Such chiefs were imbued with supernatural powers used to protect and serve their people (Powell, 48). In battle, shirt wearers were the first to charge and the last to depart. If a comrade's horse was shot, leaving the warrior on foot, the shirt wearer was obliged to rescue him. If a shirt wearer did not fulfill his duties, he was stripped of the right to wear the sacred garment, and he and his family were humiliated. The scalp locks on this shirt symbolize the shirt wearer's deeds and dedication to his people. The two primary colors, yellow and blue, symbolize the sky and rock, basic elements of the Lakota cosmos."