Horned Headdress
CulturePawnee, Nebraska
Dateca. 1840
MediumNative tanned leather, mallard duck scalp, eagle, raven, and crown feathers, rabbit skin (?), horsehair, wool cloth, native pigment, cow horn, and glass beads
DimensionsOverall: 38 × 10 × 10 inches (96.52 × 25.4 × 25.4 cm)
Credit LineAnonymous gift
Object number2006.28.2
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 208
Collections
DescriptionHeaddress with split horns painted red and green, browband of black and white beads covered with white rabbit (?) skinGallery LabelHorned headdresses embody and manifest spiritual power. They transformed the wearer into a horned figure, reflecting an ancient Woodlands pictorial tradition whereby the addition of horns signified a supernatural being. The inspiration for this object likely originated in a man’s personal vision, in which a spirit helper instructed him in its creation and the elaborate complex of materials used in its construction. These elements— among them thinly carved and asymmetrically painted horns—symbolize the specific meanings and forces contained within the headdress, known only to the owner.
Torrence, Gaylord, ed. Continuum: North American Native Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Kansas City: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
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