Handpainted Rawhide Medicine Shield 1970s NR

This wonderful hand painted rawhide shield is rendered upon a heavy rawhide face, stretched over a bent wood hoop. It carries a hank of horsehair on its face, and numerous hand painted replica eagle feathers with sinew-wrapped shafts. The rim is edged with tanned elk hide, and a hanging strap is also elk hide, across the back. The shield face measures 16" in diameter

Shields like these were traditionally carried slung over the saddle horns on horseback, on the arm, or proudly displayed before a lodge doorway to show the honor of the owner. The painting may depict a favorite horse, or an enemy's mount that was taken as a war honor. This shield was collected as an older item in the 1970s in Washington State, and is attributed to an unknown artist through the 1960s. The maker can't be authenticated.

Items of similar style and generic origin are often referred to as "Mandalas", which is a term used in the 1960s to describe circular flat objects that carry cultural themes. The word is of Sanskrit origins -- the OTHER kind of Indian! We call these medicine shields, which is what their predecessors were, although the art is now created mostly for decorative purposes.

If you are interested in traditional Plains and Woodland cultural arts, especially something as striking as this painted shield, or need a perfect gift for a collector, don't let it get away from you!

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