Skip to main content
Collections Menu
Split Horn Headdress
Split Horn Headdress

Split Horn Headdress

Datec. 1870
DimensionsOverall: 34 1/2 × 8 1/2 × 8 1/2 in. (87.6 × 21.6 × 21.6 cm)
Object numberT0634
Credit LineLoan from the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextA warrior had to receive spiritual instruction from a dream or mystical experience before having the right to make a horned bonnet. Through this instruction he also received the exclusive right to use ceremonial facial painting and specific songs which related to the privilege of wearing the headdress. These honors were gifts or blessings and protected the owner in warfare. Horned headdresses were worn by members of the Bull society, which honored the buffalo spirits in its ceremonials.
Exhibition History"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, May 9, 2017 - October 8, 2017.

"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY, October 13, 2018 - December 31, 2018.

"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," Mitchell Gallery, St John's College, Annapolis, MD, February 28, 2020 - April 26, 2020.
ProvenanceAlexander Acevedo, Los Angeles, California; Masco Corporation, Taylor, Michigan; Morning Star, Santa Fe, New Mexico
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.176.

Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 192.
On View
Not on view
Parka (Qas'peq)
Central Yup'ik
c. 1890-1910
Necklace
Apsaalooke (Crow)
1830-1860
Root Bag
Wishxam or Wasco
1840-1860
Basket
Upper Lake Pomo
c. 1910
Bent-Corner Chest
Haida
1830-1860
Feather Headdress
Lakota (Teton Sioux)
c. 1900
Baby Bonnet
Anishinaabe (eastern Ojibwa) or Odawa
1847-1854
Pouch
Odawa or cultural relatives
c. 1780
Otsego Urn
Karen Ann Hoffman
2022
Kachina Doll
Hopi
c. 1900-1920
Kachina Doll
Wilson Tawaquaptewa
c. 1920

5798 STATE HIGHWAY 80
COOPERSTOWN NY, 13326
607-547-1400

close

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required