Buckskin Ceremonial Shirt
name: label: Collector
content: Maxwell B. Richardson
label: Donor Name
content: Maxwell B. Richardson
notes: label: Notes
content: From card: "Represents the totem of the bear. Illus. in USNM AR 1888, Pl. XXI, p. 274." From late 19th or early 20th century exhibit label filed with catalogue card: "Buckskin Armor - Made of two thicknesses of buckskin, sewed up on the left side and open on the right. There is a slit to admit the head. The figure of the bear is painted on the front in black and red colors." Formerly on exhibit in NHB Hall 9, case 27 where exhibit label identified it as: "Moose-hide body armor."
label: Notes
content: The accession card for E130587 - 130590 states: "One trunk of Indian clothing." The items were accessioned as a loan. The loan accession file contains correspondence and memoranda pertaining to the loan. In a letter dated Oswego, New York, September 24, 1888, Max B. Richardson, writes: "A few years ago, while on the Pacific Coast in Oregon, I obtained, among other things, from a fur trader, some curious articles of clothing, made apparently from the skins of the Sea Lion or Walrus. These garments are cut from the same pattern. they have an opening at the top for the head, and an arm-hole for the left arm, and are open at the right side. One of them is padded in front and is more than one inch in thickness, was apparently used as armor. One of them is decorated with Totemistic designs and another one was trimmed with the toes of the Mountain Sheep, with rows of Bear's teeth across the breast, and rows of copper bell-shaped ornaments across the bottom. I have never seen anything like these garments in any collection. I think they were procured by an Agent of the Southwest Trading Company from some Indian belonging to the Aleutian Islands." In a letter dated December 10, 1888, Max B. Richardson furnishes descriptions of the items sent and writes: "The article marked No. 2 was a coat of a chief who doubtless lived in Alaska or upon one of the Aleutian Islands adjacent thereto...The coat No. 1 was a very striking garment when I first saw it...The party of whom I purchased these goods would not sell No. 1 unless I allowed him to remove all the bear's teeth as he wished to use them, and appeared to value them very highly. I had to allow him to cut them off in order to get the garment at all. I am ashamed to say I removed the rest of the ornaments which I have preserved. One of the bear's teeth was carved to represent an eagle. I saved this piece of carving."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 7 Jul 2021
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Tlingit
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 021596
label: USNM Number
content: E130588-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Shirt