War Shield with Case and Two Attached Paint Pouches
Artist/MakerAmerican Indian,
Central Plains Indian
Datelate 19th–early 20th century
MediumLeather, paint, and feathers
DimensionsOverall: 18 1/2 in. (47 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Oberlin College Department of Zoology
Object number1957.138.2
Status
Not on viewThe designs used to decorate shields like this one would have held deep personal meaning for individual warriors, as shields were thought to hold great protective power. The design depicted on the shield would be revealed to a warrior in a vision by a spirit being. Because the production of the shield’s artwork was closely linked to the warrior’s identity, shields are primarily categorized as a masculine art form.
Exhibition History
American Indian Art of the Plains and Southwest
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (April 11, 1978 - April 30, 1978 )
Howling Wolf: An Autobiography of a Plains Warrior-Artist
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (October 2, 1992 - December 6, 1992 )
- University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque (January 16, 1993 - March 13, 1993 )
"The Painted Arrow People": Art of the Cheyenne
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 9, 2008 - December 23, 2008 )
Art and Life in Early America
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 2, 2014 - June 28, 2015 )
Collections
- Americas
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late 19th–early 20th century
late 19th–early 20th century
late 19th–early 20th century
late 19th–early 20th century
late 19th–early 20th century
late 19th–early 20th century
late 19th–early 20th century
late 19th–early 20th century
late 19th–early 20th century
ca. 10th century
20th century
20th century