Tobacco Bag
CultureSouthern Cheyenne
Date1890
MediumNative leather, glass beads, pigment, metal cones and dew claws
DimensionsOverall: 30 1/2 × 7 1/4 inches (77.47 × 18.42 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: the Sacred Circles Fund and gift of Sheilah A. Philip, Gordon S. Philip, and George Philip V
Object number2006.40
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 208
Collections
DescriptionVertical leather bag, fringed at bottom below a panel of embroidered glass beadwork depicting a human figure bordered by rows of thunderbirds on a white background.Gallery LabelThe designs on the front and reverse beaded panels of this Cheyenne bag depict a single human surrounded by Thunderbirds—ancient, mythic, powerful spirit-helpers. The image evokes the individual’s search for spiritual guidance, one of the defining features of Plains culture. Here, a man stands with raised arms in the act of prayer, calling for sacred power. The design may also represent the Ghost Dance, where participants danced with outstretched arms in a trance-like state, seeking to see deceased relatives and the new world promised by the religion’s doctrine.
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