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The American flag design was most popular in Sioux beadwork at that time. It was adopted as a symbol of courage and power; as such it was assimilated into the Native imagery relating to prestige derived from warfare. This extraordinary violin case poignantly captures the merging of Native and Euro-American cultures and is one of the most flamboyant examples of virtuoso beadwork that became prevalent during the early Reservation period in the late 19th century. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
Exhibition HistoryMuseum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, MA, December 6, 1994 - May 2, 1995.
ProvenanceGeorge Schmidt, Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota; James Waste, California; Butterfield & Butterfield, San Francisco, California, 1988; Morning Star Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
BibliographyButterfield & Butterfield. March 18, 1988, lot 4120.
"Auction Block." AMERICAN INDIAN ART MAGAZINE. Vol. 13, no. 4 (Autumn 1988): 18, fig. 1.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.149.
Herbst, Toby, and Joel Kopp. The Flag in American Indian Art. Cooperstown, NY: New York State Historical Association, 1993, p. 75, pl. 64.
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. 159.
Culture
Brule Sioux (Lakota)
Violin Case
Date1899
MediumCommercially manufactured wooden violin case; cover: native tanned hide, glass beads, cotton cloth
DimensionsOverall: 31 1/2 × 16 1/2 × 11 in. (80 × 41.9 × 27.9 cm)
Object numberT0080
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextThis violin case belonged to George Schmidt, a German immigrant who married a Brule woman and settled among her people in the Horse Creek Community on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. His initials, G S, are part of the lazy-stitch beadwork covering the lid of the case, and his name, address, and the date December 25, 1899, are worked in beadwork on the back of the case. Apparently this was a Christmas present from his wife, and it tells us much about their loving relationship and his acceptance by the Native people.The American flag design was most popular in Sioux beadwork at that time. It was adopted as a symbol of courage and power; as such it was assimilated into the Native imagery relating to prestige derived from warfare. This extraordinary violin case poignantly captures the merging of Native and Euro-American cultures and is one of the most flamboyant examples of virtuoso beadwork that became prevalent during the early Reservation period in the late 19th century. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
Exhibition HistoryMuseum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, MA, December 6, 1994 - May 2, 1995.
ProvenanceGeorge Schmidt, Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota; James Waste, California; Butterfield & Butterfield, San Francisco, California, 1988; Morning Star Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
BibliographyButterfield & Butterfield. March 18, 1988, lot 4120.
"Auction Block." AMERICAN INDIAN ART MAGAZINE. Vol. 13, no. 4 (Autumn 1988): 18, fig. 1.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.149.
Herbst, Toby, and Joel Kopp. The Flag in American Indian Art. Cooperstown, NY: New York State Historical Association, 1993, p. 75, pl. 64.
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. 159.
On View
On view
